Metabolic Syndrome Doesn't Affect Female Sexual Function

TUESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Metabolic syndrome appears to have little impact on sexual function in middle- to old-aged women, according to a study published online Jan. 14 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Yun Hwan Kim, M.D., Ph.D., of the Ewha Woman's University in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues investigated the impact of metabolic syndrome on female sexual dysfunction in middle- to old-aged women. They studied 773 sexually active women aged 40 years and older who visited a health-screening clinic between May 2009 and January 2010. The participants' histories and anthropomorphic measurements were recorded. They also completed a series of laboratory tests and questionnaires. The main outcome measure was the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), which was used to assess the key dimensions of female sexual function.

The researchers found that, although there were significant differences in the demographics of women with and without metabolic syndrome, their frequency of sexual dysfunction was similar (52.1 and 55.1 percent, respectively). They saw little difference in the FSFI scores between the women with metabolic syndrome and those without. In multivariate logistic regression, metabolic syndrome and most of its components were not associated with female sexual dysfunction; however, menopausal status, smoking, depression, and symptomatic urinary incontinence were independent risk factors for female sexual dysfunction (P < 0.05). The overall rates of metabolic syndrome and female sexual dysfunction were 12.2 and 54.7 percent, respectively.

"In conclusion, metabolic syndrome may have little impact on sexual function in middle- to old-aged women," the authors write.

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