Female sexual dysfunction in iranian postmenopausal women: Prevalence and correlation with hormonal profile

Introduction. Female sexual dysfunction is a current and multifactorial status that greatly affects quality of life. Menopause, aging, and probably hormonal instability are some of these drastic factors. Aim. Determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in Iranian postmenopausal women and the relationship to serum status of sex hormones and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). Methods. A total of 149 healthy postmenopausal women aged 43-64, nonhormone therapy user, with intact uterus and ovaries, enrolled in the cross-sectional study. Main Outcome Measures. Female sexual function was evaluated by utilizing the Female Sexual Function Index. Hormonal serum concentration was measured by enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Also, free testosterone and free estradiol indexes were calculated. The analysis was performed by using SPSS 16. Results. Mean age of sample was 52.19±3.76 with 47.48±36.5 month amenorrhea. In the study, 69.8% of women showed sexual dysfunction in Desire and 61.7% in Arousal, these two being the most affected domains. Lubrication (49.7%), Pain Domain (45.0%), Orgasm (40.3%), and Satisfaction (36.9%) were in later degree among six assessed domains. There was no difference between the two groups-with and without dysfunction-in hormone level and SHBG. Conclusion. In Iranian postmenopausal women, Desire and Arousal are the most prevalent menopausal sexual dysfunctions, and Female Sexual Dysfunction is much more than just a hormonal problem. © 2011 International Society for Sexual Medicine