A Comparative study on sexual dysfunctions before and after menopause

BACKGROUND: Sexual instinct which is the cause of numerous changes in an individual’s life could be influenced by different factors such as menopause and ageing. This study was designed to compare sexual dysfunction before and after menopause. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. Participants were 174 menopausal women who referred to medical health centers of Isfahan, Iran. Data were collected through self constructed sexual dysfunctions questionnaire in relation to their sexual activities before and after menopause. The reliability and validity of this questionnaire was determined by content validity and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. FINDINGS: Findings showed that the relative frequency of sexual dysfunctions was 38% in the productive period and 72.4% in the menopause period. There was a significant association between sexual dysfunctions before and after the menopause period (p < 0.001). Sexual dysfunctions in these women in the productive and menopause period were 49.2% and 62.6% in desire disorder, 34.3% and 34.9% in dyspareunia, 26.8% and 75.3% in arousal disorder, 23.5% and 56.3% in orgasmic disorder and 16.4% and 15.6% in vaginismus, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A considerable percentage of women experienced sexual dysfunctions in productive and menopause periods, and menopause could be a factor to maintain or intensify sexual dysfunctions.