TY - JOUR
T1 - Vulvovaginal atrophy of menopause and its impact on sexual function in an Italian clinical cohort of post-menopausal women
AU - on behalf of the investigators of the EVES Study
AU - Nappi, Rossella E.
AU - Guida, Maurizio
AU - Marchesoni, Diego
AU - Cianci, Antonio
AU - Pellegrino, Antonio
AU - Remorgida, Valentino
AU - Di Paolantonio, Tiziana
AU - Benedetti Panici, Pierluigi
N1 - Funding Information:
Manuscript writing and editorial support was provided by Emili González-Pérez, PhD of TFS, S.L., with financial support provided by Shionogi Ltd. The study was sponsored by Shionogi Ltd.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The aim of current study was to estimate the impact of vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) on sexual function in a clinical population of Italian postmenopausal women. Women aged 45–75 years with at least one VVA symptom completed three questionnaires: Day-to-Day Impact of Vaginal Aging (DIVA), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Female Sexual Distress Scale revised (FSDS-R). A gynaecological examination was performed for VVA confirmation. Among the 1,066 evaluable patients, VVA was confirmed in around 90% of the sample. Sexual function impairment was significantly higher in patients with confirmed VVA as observed by significant differences in the sexual function component of the DIVA questionnaire (p =.014), the FSDS-R (p <.0005), and the FSFI (p <.0005), as well as for all the FSFI subdomains: desire (p <.0005), arousal (p <.0005), lubrication (p <.0005), orgasm (p <.0005), satisfaction (p <.0005) and pain (p <.0005). Significant impairment of sexual function was demonstrated in Italian postmenopausal women who were clinically confirmed with signs of VVA through gynaecological examination.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject: At least half of postmenopausal women report VVA associated symptoms with significant impact on sexual function and ultimately on sexual activity. What the results of this study add: As compared with patients without confirmed VVA, the negative impact on sexual function was significantly higher in patients with confirmed VVA. This difference was observed for the sexual function component (DIVA-C) of the DIVA questionnaire, for the overall FSDS-R result, and for the overall FSFI score, as well as for all the FSFI subdomains (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain). What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: An impairment of sexual function is significantly associated with VVA diagnosis in Italian post-menopausal women, especially when diagnosis was objectively confirmed by clinical signs of VVA visible in the gynaecological examination. In addition, this study demonstrates that inquiring about VVA using a structured questionnaire may increase the diagnosis of VVA related changes in sexual function.
AB - The aim of current study was to estimate the impact of vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) on sexual function in a clinical population of Italian postmenopausal women. Women aged 45–75 years with at least one VVA symptom completed three questionnaires: Day-to-Day Impact of Vaginal Aging (DIVA), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Female Sexual Distress Scale revised (FSDS-R). A gynaecological examination was performed for VVA confirmation. Among the 1,066 evaluable patients, VVA was confirmed in around 90% of the sample. Sexual function impairment was significantly higher in patients with confirmed VVA as observed by significant differences in the sexual function component of the DIVA questionnaire (p =.014), the FSDS-R (p <.0005), and the FSFI (p <.0005), as well as for all the FSFI subdomains: desire (p <.0005), arousal (p <.0005), lubrication (p <.0005), orgasm (p <.0005), satisfaction (p <.0005) and pain (p <.0005). Significant impairment of sexual function was demonstrated in Italian postmenopausal women who were clinically confirmed with signs of VVA through gynaecological examination.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject: At least half of postmenopausal women report VVA associated symptoms with significant impact on sexual function and ultimately on sexual activity. What the results of this study add: As compared with patients without confirmed VVA, the negative impact on sexual function was significantly higher in patients with confirmed VVA. This difference was observed for the sexual function component (DIVA-C) of the DIVA questionnaire, for the overall FSDS-R result, and for the overall FSFI score, as well as for all the FSFI subdomains (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain). What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: An impairment of sexual function is significantly associated with VVA diagnosis in Italian post-menopausal women, especially when diagnosis was objectively confirmed by clinical signs of VVA visible in the gynaecological examination. In addition, this study demonstrates that inquiring about VVA using a structured questionnaire may increase the diagnosis of VVA related changes in sexual function.
KW - DIVA
KW - FSDS
KW - FSFI
KW - menopause
KW - sexual function
KW - Vulvovaginal atrophy
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U2 - 10.1080/01443615.2020.1832973
DO - 10.1080/01443615.2020.1832973
M3 - Article
C2 - 33432869
AN - SCOPUS:85100156143
JO - Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
JF - Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
SN - 0144-3615
ER -