TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence and clinical features of sexual dysfunction in male with epilepsy
T2 - The first southern italy hospital-based study
AU - Calabrò, Rocco Salvatore
AU - Grisolaghi, Jacopo
AU - Quattrini, Fabrizio
AU - Bramanti, Placido
AU - Magaudda, Adriana
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and the etiology of sexual dysfunctions (SD) in a group of epileptic outpatients. Sixty Italian men (30 patients and 30 controls), living in Sicily, were enrolled in the study. Our diagnostic investigation included physical and neurological examination, EEG, MRI and Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Scales administration. A "semi-structured" questionnaire and the short form of the Sex relation Evaluation Schedule Assessment Monitoring were administered to the whole sample to evaluate their sexual well-being. There was no correlation between SD and type of epilepsy, EEG abnormalities and different antiepileptic drugs, while a weak correlation was observed between seizure frequency and the main SD. Forty-seven percent of the patients were affected by mild to moderate depression and 73.3% were anxious. Moreover, those patients who had uncontrolled seizures presented alteration in their social and affective area. Our findings showed a low prevalence of SD in epileptic male outpatients, especially concerning hyposexuality, and an important role of the seizure frequency in the multifactorial aetiology of sexual impairment in epilepsy. However, larger and multicenter studies are needed to better define the effects of epilepsy per se and the individual treatments on sexual function.
AB - The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and the etiology of sexual dysfunctions (SD) in a group of epileptic outpatients. Sixty Italian men (30 patients and 30 controls), living in Sicily, were enrolled in the study. Our diagnostic investigation included physical and neurological examination, EEG, MRI and Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Scales administration. A "semi-structured" questionnaire and the short form of the Sex relation Evaluation Schedule Assessment Monitoring were administered to the whole sample to evaluate their sexual well-being. There was no correlation between SD and type of epilepsy, EEG abnormalities and different antiepileptic drugs, while a weak correlation was observed between seizure frequency and the main SD. Forty-seven percent of the patients were affected by mild to moderate depression and 73.3% were anxious. Moreover, those patients who had uncontrolled seizures presented alteration in their social and affective area. Our findings showed a low prevalence of SD in epileptic male outpatients, especially concerning hyposexuality, and an important role of the seizure frequency in the multifactorial aetiology of sexual impairment in epilepsy. However, larger and multicenter studies are needed to better define the effects of epilepsy per se and the individual treatments on sexual function.
KW - Epilepsy
KW - Hyposexuality
KW - QoL
KW - Sexual dysfunction
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U2 - 10.3109/00207454.2013.798783
DO - 10.3109/00207454.2013.798783
M3 - Article
C2 - 23627716
AN - SCOPUS:84884368588
VL - 123
SP - 732
EP - 737
JO - International Journal of Neuroscience
JF - International Journal of Neuroscience
SN - 0020-7454
IS - 10
ER -