Prevalence and risk factors for low sexual function in women: A study of 1,009 women in an outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Istanbul

Introduction. Sexual functioning is a common and multidimensional problem, associated with multiple biological, medical, psychological, sociocultural, political, economic, and interpersonal factors. Aim. The study was planned to determine the prevalence and risk factors for low sexual function in women in an outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Istanbul. Methods. Totally, 1,009 women over 20 years of age or their healthy female companions were interviewed in the outpatient clinics of the Department of Internal Medicine in a university hospital in Istanbul. Main Outcome Measures. Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to evaluate sexual function. Results. The mean age of women was 38.62 +/- 12.82 and 22.2% of women were postmenopausal. The mean FSFI score was found to be 24.25 +/- 9.50 out of a maximum total score of 36. Based on the total FSFI score, 43.4% of the women had scores less then 26. The mean domain scores were: desire 3.14 +/- 1.47, arousal 3.60 +/- 1.85, lubrication 4.53 +/- 2.01, orgasm 4.02 +/- 1.97, satisfaction 4.27 +/- 1.64, and pain 4.69 +/- 1.96 out of a maximum domain score of six. The rate of low sexual function by the age groups were 22% for those 20-29 years, 39.7% for those 30-39 years, 50.2% for those 40-49 years, 71.3% for those 50-59 years, 82.9% for those 60-64 years, and 87.8% for those 65 and over. Lower educational level, menopause, depression, presence of sexual dysfunction in their partner, and contraceptive use were found to be significantly associated with low sexual function in women. Conclusions. The prevalence of low sexual function in women was found to significantly increase with age. The most significantly affected domains were desire and arousal followed by orgasmic problems, satisfaction, and pain, respectively.