Sexual Dysfunction and Sexual Quality of Life in Women with Diabetes: The Study Based on a Diabetic Center

Abstract

This study was conducted on a cross-sectional basis for the purpose of determining the prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) and sexual quality of life in women with diabetes and, showing the correlation of them with some variables associated with diabetes. The study recruited 423 women with diabetes, through a diabetic center for control from January to December 2012. The data was collected with Socio-demographic and Disease Associated Properties Form, Women Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Women (SQLQ). The mean age of the women, who participated in the study, was 50.0 (SD = 11.3) and, their mean marital period was 30.0 (SD = 11.8). 83 % of the women had type 2 and, 17 % of them had type 1 diabetes and, their mean duration of disease is 11.4 (SD = 7.2). 60.5 % of the women expressed that their sexual desire decreased and, 61.7 % of them expressed that their frequency of sexual intercourse reduced after the diagnosis of their disease. According to the total FSFI scores, 80.4 % of the women had SD. The frequency of SD in women with type 2 diabetes (85.6 %) was significantly higher than that in women with type 1 diabetes (%55.6) (p < 0.001). The sexual quality of life of women with SD (62.7 +/- A 21.2) was significantly lower than that of those without SD (89.6 +/- A 9.9) (p < 0.001). According to these study results, SD was prevalent in women with diabetes, particularly those with type 2 diabetes and also their sexual quality of life was low in parallel with this.