Dyslipidemia – an impaired lipid profile – is an independent risk factor for female sexual dysfunction, according to researchers from Italy.
While other cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension, have been associated with women’s sexual problems before, little was known about dyslipidemia’s connection to sexual function. Cardiovascular risk factors are believed to cause vascular issues in the genitalia of both men and women.
With this in mind, the research team recruited 466 women between the ages of 42 and 58 to participate in a study. Two hundred eighteen women had normal lipid profiles and served as the control group. The rest had at least one symptom of dyslipidemia, which was defined as low density lipoprotein levels greater than or equal to 160 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein levels less than or equal to 50 mg/dL, or triglycerides greater than or equal to 150 mg/dL.
All of the women completed three questionnaires: The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS), and the modified Italian version of the Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire (MHQ). The MHQ is used for the screening of mental disorders.
When compared to the control group, the women with dyslipidemia had lower FSFI scores – overall and on the separate domains of desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. These lower scores indicate poorer sexual function.
Women with dyslipidemia also had more stress related to their sex lives based on their mean FSFD scores. On the MHQ, they had higher scores on the obsession, somatization, and depression domains.
In addition, sexual dysfunction was more prevalent among the women with dyslipidemia, irrespective of postmenopausal status.
The authors noted that vascular issues associated with dyslipidemia could be the main force affecting the women’s sexual function.
“Atherosclerosis of the vascular bed supplying the female pelvic regions may be responsible for the decreased vaginal and clitoral engorgement which characterizes vasculogenic [female sexual dysfunction],” they wrote.
They suggested that women seeking treatment for sexual problems be screened for cardiovascular risk factors. In turn, clinicians treating women with cardiovascular risk factors may consider asking them about their sexual health.
The study was published last month in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Resources
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Baldassarre, Maurizio, PhD, et al.
“Impaired Lipid Profile is a Risk Factor for the Development of Sexual Dysfunction in Women”
(Full-text. January 2016)
http://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(15)00007-7/fulltext