Association between Covid-19 vaccination, fear of COVID-19 and female sexual satisfaction among a sample of Lebanese women: A pilot study

Objectives: Sexual satisfaction is a sign of a healthy sex life, and is associated with global well-being, personal, and interpersonal factors. No previous research studying the association of fear of COVID-19 and coronavirus vaccine with female sexual satisfaction has been found in Lebanon. The main objective of our study was to assess the association between COVID-19 vaccination, fear of COVID-19, and female sexual satisfaction. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between June 2021 and February 2022 using a sample of community dwelling participants. 239 Lebanese women aged 18 to 45, residing in Lebanon participated in the study. Due to the restrictions on gatherings and the risky side of face-to-face interviews, we created the survey on Google forms. The link was shared among the participants and sent to all governorates of Lebanon (Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North, South, and Bekaa) using the snowball technique. Results: After adjusting the correlations over all variables, being ever infected by COVID-19 did not show a significant correlation with the sexual satisfaction scale score. However, the intake of the COVID-19 vaccine was significantly associated with more contentment (r=0.13). Older age was significantly associated with less communication (r=-0.12) and less overall sexual satisfaction (r=-0.12), whereas being married was significantly associated with more contentment (r=0.25), communication (r=0.20), compatibility (r=0.16), relational concern (r=0.28), personal concern (r=0.25) and overall sexual satisfaction (r=0.27) scores. Higher household crowding index (lower socioeconomic status) was significantly associated with lower overall sexual satisfaction score (r=-0.14) and lower subscales scores (except contentment). Higher anxiety was significantly associated with lower relational concern (r=-0.17) and personal concern (r=-0.16) scores. Conclusion: Our study is the first that shows an association between COVID-19 vaccination and sexual satisfaction. Although correlation does not imply causation, further research on female sexuality in the Arab world is encouraged.