Female sexual dysfunction amongst rural postmenopausal woman

Background: Female Sexual dysfunction is a common neglected symptom of postmenopausal women in rural India. Prevalence of sexual dysfunction increases with age and sexual response is dynamic process influenced by socio-cultural, physiological, psychological and socio-economical factors. The objective of the study was to analyse the prevalence of female sexual dysfunctions in postmenopausal women from rural area and to analyze prevalence of sexual activity among them.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2015 to January 2016 in Obstetrics and Gynecology outpatient department of Indian Institute of Medical Science and Research, Badnapur, Jalna, Maharashtra which is a tertiary care centre. All postmenopausal women who have attained menopause naturally were questioned about sexual symptoms with the help of pre-tested questionnaires and then analyzed with appropriate tests.Results: Mean age of menopause was 47.59±3.98 yrs and 51.9% were sexually active. Mean age among sexual active and sexual inactive women was 54.42±5.23 and 62.13±6.39 respectively. Prevalence of dyspareunia, vaginal dryness and decreased libido were 10.7%, 10.7% and 55.36% respectively in sexually active postmenopausal women. Sexual activity decreased from 54.4% to 5.6% as the duration of menopause increased from 5 years or less to 11 or more years. Sexual dysfunction increased as the duration of menopause increased.Conclusions: Sexual dysfunction is common in postmenopausal women and increases with increasing duration of menopause. Awareness of health care facility among rural menopausal women should be increased to improve their quality of life