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The Impact of Sexual Dysfunction on Quality of Life of Patients with Asthma in Turkey

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Abstract

Sexual dysfunction is one of the factors that reduce the quality of life of patients with asthma, and it is generally ignored in research and clinical practices. The present study was aimed at determining sexual dysfunction, quality of life levels of patients with asthma and investigating the effects of sexual dysfunction on quality of life of patients with asthma. This cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2015 and December 2015 in Bandirma State Hospital. The sample of the study consisted of 172 patients with asthma. Data were collected with the Personal Information Form, Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale and Life Quality Index. The analysis was performed using the descriptive statistics, t test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis. While the mean scores the patients with asthma obtained from the Life Quality Index were low, the mean scores they obtained from the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale were moderate, and 73.3% of the patients experienced sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction was more prevalent in women, in people who were in the ≥51 age group, primary school graduates, unemployed, in need of healthcare, had been sick ≥11 years, and whose perceived income level was low. These people’s quality of life was significantly low. A strong negative correlation was determined between the quality of life and sexual dysfunction, and that sexual dysfunction accounted for 76% of the total variance of quality of life. In the present study, three out of every four patients experienced sexual dysfunction and their quality of life was low. Therefore, to improve quality of life of patients with asthma, their sexual functions should be taken into account, and in their treatment, a multidisciplinary approach should be applied.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, Bandirma Onyedi Eylul University, Kurtulus Street, 10200, Bandirma/Balikesir, Turkey

    Dilek Avci

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, Uskudar University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Selma Dogan

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  1. Dilek Avci
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  2. Selma Dogan
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Correspondence to Dilek Avci.

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The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consents were obtained from all the participants included in the study.

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Avci, D., Dogan, S. The Impact of Sexual Dysfunction on Quality of Life of Patients with Asthma in Turkey. Sex Disabil 35, 107–118 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-016-9468-2

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