Sexual dysfunctions in alcohol-dependent men: A study from north India

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Sexual dysfunctions have been reported in alcohol-dependent men. Most of the studies conducted had limitation of using non-validated measures of sexual dysfunction and sampling design. This study was, therefore, conducted to determine the typology, demographic and clinical correlates of sexual dysfunction in alcohol-dependent men. METHODS: One hundred and one patients with alcohol dependence (AD) attending the Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre and 50 healthy controls were evaluated in this cross-sectional study. Participants in both the groups were assessed on Arizona Sexual experience scale (ASEX), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). In addition, patients with AD were assessed on Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) for severity of AD and revised clinical institute withdrawal assessment for alcohol scale (CIWA-Ar) to ensure that no participant was in active alcohol withdrawal state. RESULTS: Overall, 58.4 per cent of patients in the AD group had sexual dysfunction. Among the domains, the highest frequency was seen for dysfunction for arousal (57.4%), followed by problems in desire (54.4%), erection (36.6%), satisfaction with orgasm (34.6%) and ability to reach orgasm was least affected (12.87%). The patient and control groups differed significantly in overall dyadic adjustment, in the domains of dyadic satisfaction and affective expression. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: The finding of this study showed that a significant proportion of patients with AD has sexual dysfunction. Longitudinal studies using validated assessment tools should be done to confirm these findings.