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The impact of premature ovarian insufficiency on sexual function; which domain is mostly disrupted?

International Journal of Impotence Research (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

This study aimed to compare the sexual function (SF) and its domains between women with idiopathic premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and healthy control. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 63 married women with idiopathic POI, referred to the reproductive endocrinology research center (Tehran, Iran), and 784 married women with regular menstrual cycles who visited for routine annual gynecological exams in 2021-2022. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire was used to assess the SF of participants. Linear regression and factor analysis were used to analyze the data. Characteristics were similar in both study groups except for body mass index, hip circumference, job status, and number of deliveries. The mean score (standard deviation) of FSFI in women with POI and control were 21.70 (9.0) and 24.30 (5.0), respectively (P < 0.001). All domains’ scores of FSFI were significantly lower in POI women than in the control group (P < 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, these findings remained unchanged. Factor analysis demonstrated the arousal and lubrication domains as the most influential factors SF among POI women, while the desire domain played the lowest role. In addition to various health conditions threatening POI women’s future lives, sexual disturbances must be addressed in their routine care.

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Fig. 1: Participants’ sexual function scores.

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Data availability

The data sets produced through the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This article is taken from the disease registry, titled “Designing the Tehran Registry Program for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (TRPPOI), and projected with code number IR.SBMU.ENDOCRINE.REC.1400.027 from the ethics committee, which was supported by the deputy of research and technology at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (http://dregistry.sbmu.ac.ir).

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The author(s) reported no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reproductive Endocrinology Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Farahmand & Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani

  2. The Foundation for Research & Education Excellence, Vestavia, AL, USA

    Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani

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  1. Maryam Farahmand
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  2. Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani
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Contributions

MF contributed to the study design and execution, literature review, data analysis, manuscript drafting, and critical discussion. FRT contributed to the study design and execution, manuscript drafting, and critical discussion.

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Correspondence to Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani.

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Farahmand, M., Ramezani Tehrani, F. The impact of premature ovarian insufficiency on sexual function; which domain is mostly disrupted?. Int J Impot Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-024-00851-4

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