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Sexual dysfunction in women with obstructive sleep apnea

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Abstract

Background

Female sexual dysfunction is vastly under-recognized but has been previously described in chronic disease states. Sexual dysfunction in male patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is well described, but not in females.

Objective

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with OSA.

Methods

We studied 21 consecutive pre-menopausal women with OSA, referred to our sleep lab, and who had a positive study for sleep apnea (respiratory disturbance index (RDI) > 5), and 11 healthy pre-menopausal women were included as the control group. Subjects were administered the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire and a mood scale—Profile of Mood States.

Results

Of the study group, 11 women (52.4%) had FSFI scores in the poor range (<23) as compared to the control group, in which none of the women (0%) had FSFI scores in the poor range (<23). Negative mood domain scores were not different in patients with poor FSFI compared to patients with normal FSFI scores. There was no correlation between obesity, severity of sleep apnea, or mood disorders on overall scores of sexual dysfunction. Among individual domains, there was a correlation between RDI and arousal scores.

Conclusion

In our study, we have found that prevalence of sexual dysfunction is high among women with OSA. Physicians should routinely screen and evaluate women with OSA for sexual dysfunction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 10019 S. Main St, Houston, TX, 77025, USA

    Shyam Subramanian, Swetha Bopparaju, Ashesh Desai & Salim Surani

  2. Sleep Center, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Tammy Wiggins & Cheryl Rambaud

Authors
  1. Shyam Subramanian
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  2. Swetha Bopparaju
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  3. Ashesh Desai
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  4. Tammy Wiggins
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  5. Cheryl Rambaud
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  6. Salim Surani
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Correspondence to Shyam Subramanian.

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Subramanian, S., Bopparaju, S., Desai, A. et al. Sexual dysfunction in women with obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath 14, 59–62 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-009-0280-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-009-0280-4

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