Men who have genital warts are more likely to have higher rates of sexual dysfunction, depression, and anxiety, a new study reports.
Caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), genital warts are small bumps that appear in the genital area. It is estimated that between 3 and 4 million men worldwide are diagnosed with genital warts each year. HPV is spread through sexual contact.
Like many sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), genital warts are believed to be associated with sexual dysfunction, anxiety, and depression. Many people with genital warts feel stigmatized by their condition, blame themselves, and worry that the infection may be transmitted to a partner. They may also be concerned that a new partner will reject them when they explain their situation.
Researchers from Turkey noted that very little research on STIs, psychological effects, and sexual dysfunction focus specifically on genital warts. The present study aimed to learn more about sexual dysfunction in men with genital warts and how such sexual dysfunction may be associated with depression and anxiety.
To do this, the researchers recruited 187 men for the study. One hundred sixteen patients had genital warts. Seventy-one healthy men served as a control group. Most of the men were in their twenties and thirties and had similar backgrounds in terms of education, profession, marital status, and sexual history.
The researchers used the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) to assess sexual function. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to evaluate depression and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) assessed the men’s anxiety levels. Higher scores on the ASEX, BDI, and BAI indicate higher rates of sexual dysfunction, depression, and anxiety, respectively.
Scores on the BDI and BAI were found to be statistically higher in the patient group when compared to the control group. On the ASEX, the patients’ scores were significantly higher than the controls’ scores in the areas of sex drive, arousal, penile erection, ability to reach orgasm, and satisfaction from orgasm.
“These results demonstrated that [genital warts] had a significant relationship with [sexual dysfunction], depression, and anxiety,” the authors said.
They added that “this dermatologic disease is likely to affect all phases of sexual functioning.”
The authors also addressed the questions of whether depression and anxiety causes sexual dysfunction or whether sexual dysfunction causes depression and anxiety. They concluded that in their group of patients with genital warts, sexual dysfunction seemed to be independent of anxiety and depression. They suggested that genital warts may be associated with diminished sensation in the affected area and that men may feel less attractive because of the warts’ location.
They recommended that patients with genital warts be screened for sexual dysfunction as well as depression and anxiety.
The study was published online in April in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Resources
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Kucukunal, Asli, MD, et al.
“Sexual Dysfunction in Men Suffering from Genital Warts”
(Full-text. First published online: April 2, 2013)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsm.12132/abstract