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Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine have revealed new insights into female sexual dysfunction.
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Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine have found that female sexual dysfunction (FSD)
affects 48.2 percent of women in a new study and that these women
had decreased sensation in the clitoris, which increased the risk of
sexual dysfunction.
"There is a paucity of data available on FSD and this study
brings attention to the possibility of a neurological cause for the
dysfunction," said lead author Kathleen Connell, M.D., assistant
professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive
Sciences at Yale School of Medicine.
Connell said previous epidemiological studies have shown that
about 10 million women between the ages of 50 and 74 report abnormal
sexual complaints, including decreased desire, inability to reach
orgasm and increased pain with intercourse. In contrast to data on
men, Connell said clinical trials evaluating the physiologic
mechanisms responsible for sexual function in women are few, despite
reports of other investigators, which suggest that sexual
dysfunctions may be more common in women than men.
"The sexual response is complex and involves interaction between
the nervous system, the vascular system and the musculoskeletal
system," said Connell. "Alterations in any of these systems could
potentially cause FSD."
The trial was conducted while Connell was at the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine. The team studied the pudenal nerve, which
provides nerve fibers to the pelvic floor muscles and is also
responsible for sensation in the genital region. They evaluated the
role of genital neurological integrity and sexual function in 56
women. They used a validated screening questionnaire to identify
women between ages 18 and 68 with FSD and tested vibratory and
pressure sensation in the genital region.
The team found that almost half of the women studied reported
sexual dysfunction. Of the women with FSD, 23.2 percent had more
than one form of sexual dysfunction. Those with sexual dysfunction
had decreased sensation in the clitoris compared to asymptomatic
women.
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Other authors on the study included Marsha K. Guess, M.D., Julie
La Combe, M.D., Andrea Wang, M.D., Kenneth Powers, M.D., George
Lazarou, M.D. and Magdy Mikhail, M.D.
Sources
Citation: American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology,
Vol. 192, No. 5 (May 2005).
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