The impact of symptomatic urinary incontinence on female sexual function in middle- to old-aged Korean women.

Kim, Jee Hyun; Kim, Yun Hwan; Kim, Jin Ju; Kim, Sun Mie; Jeon, Myung Jae

doi:2011.54.12.778

Obstet Gynecol Sci > Volume 54(12); 2011 > Article

Original Article

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2011;54(12):778-783.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5468/KJOG.2011.54.12.778 Published online December 1, 2011.

The impact of symptomatic urinary incontinence on female sexual function in middle- to old-aged Korean women.

Jee Hyun Kim, Yun Hwan Kim, Jin Ju Kim, Sun Mie Kim, Myung Jae Jeon

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jeonmj@snu.ac.kr
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Research Institute, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³Health Care System Gangnam Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of symptomatic urinary incontinence (UI) on sexual function in middle- to old-aged Korean women. METHODS: From May 2009 to January 2010, a cross-sectional study was performed including middle- to old-aged, sexually active women who visited comprehensive screening clinic. We performed history taking, biometry, pelvic examination, laboratory test, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI)-20, and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Symptomatic UI was said to be present when the score for the problem-specific PFDI-16/17 questions were > or =2. Participants obtaining a total FSFI score of 26.55 or less were defined as having female sexual dysfunction (FSD). RESULTS: Among 773 enrolled women, 318 (41.14%) had symptomatic UI. FSD was significantly frequent in symptomatic UI group than normal group (62.26% vs. 49.45%, P < 0.05). Symptomatic UI was associated significantly with a total FSFI score in multiple linear regression model (standardized beta = -0.108, P < 0.05). After adjustment of clinical risk factors for FSD by analysis of covariance analyses, symptomatic UI group had significantly lower scores than those of normal groups (24.59 vs. 25.74, P < 0.05), and this was observed in all sub-domains (desire 2.88 vs. 3.05; arousal 3.75 vs. 3.96; orgasm 4.11 vs. 4.36; satisfaction 4.15 vs. 4.33; pain 4.99 vs. 5.20, P < 0.05) except lubrication domain (4.70 vs. 4.84, P = 0.056). CONCLUSION: Symptomatic UI is a risk factor for sexual dysfunction of middle- to old-aged women. Further studies should be followed to evaluate whether the treatment of symptomatic UI could restore the impaired sexual function.

Key Words: Urinary incontinence, Female sexual dysfunction, Female Sexual Function Index, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory