FRIDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- Risk for female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is higher among women taking hormonal contraceptives, according to research published online May 4 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Christian W. Wallwiener, M.D., of the University of Tuebingen in Germany, and colleagues analyzed 1,086 questionnaires completed by female German medical students about contraception, sexual activity and other factors that may influence sexual function to determine the effect hormonal contraception has on FSD.
The researchers found that 32.4 percent of the women were at risk for FSD according to female sexual function index (FSFI) definitions. Based on the scores, 8.7 percent of the women were at risk for FSD involving orgasm, 5.8 percent for desire, 2.6 percent for satisfaction, 1.2 percent for lubrication, 1.1 percent for pain, and 1.0 percent for arousal. Choice of contraception and smoking both had a significant effect on FSFI scores, with hormonal contraception associated with lower total FSFI scores, lower desire scores, and lower arousal scores than no contraception and non-hormonal contraception.
"The contraception method has a significant effect on the sexual functioning score, and women using contraception, especially hormonal contraception, had lower sexual functioning scores. Stress and relationship among other variables were found to be associated with sexual function and may thus provide insight into the etiology of sexual disorders," the authors write.
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