Evaluation of sexual dysfunction in women with type 2 diabetes

Summary Objective To evaluate the impact of diabetes on female sexuality, by comparing the sexual function between diabetic women and non-diabetic women and to determine the causative factors of sexual dysfunction (SD) among the diabetic women. Methods Thirty premenopausal women with type 2 diabetes and 30 age-matched non-diabetes women were enrolled with similar backgrounds. Their sexual functions were evaluated with Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Results Mean age of diabetic women, duration of diabetes, and BMI was 40.87 ± 4.8, 7.86 ± 4.59 years, and 30.11 ± 5.9, respectively. According to the SD criterion (FSFI ≤ 26), the percentage of SD in the diabetic group was significantly higher than that of the control group (50% vs. 16.7%, P  = 0.006). Analyses of the data showed that longer duration of diabetes and microangiopathic complications were independent risk factors of SD, although there was no significant relationship between age, BMI, hypertension, coronary artery disease, glycemic control and frequency of SD. Conclusion Findings from this study showed that there is more SD for diabetic women than for their non-diabetic counter parts and that longer duration of diabetes and microangiopathy were associated with a lower FSFI score.