Hormonal Contraceptives Linked to Female Sexual Dysfunction
Reported May 07, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Women taking hormonal contraceptives were at highest risk of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD), while women taking non-hormonal contraceptives were at lowest risk for FSD — lower than women not using any contraceptive.
“Sexual problems can have a negative impact on both quality of life and emotional well-being, regardless of age,” researcher Dr. Lisa-Maria Wallwiener of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, was quoted as saying. “FSD is a very common disorder, with an estimated prevalence of about two in five women having at least one sexual dysfunction, and the most common complaint appearing to be low desire.”
“The causes of FSD are multifunctional and in recent years the possible role of hormonal contraception has been discussed,” fellow researchers Drs. Christian and Markus Wallwiener, University of Tuebingen, Germany, were quoted as saying. “Women tend to be aware that sexual dysfunction is often influenced by various factors such as stress and relationships, but our study has shown it might also be influenced by exogenous hormone application.”
A total of 1,046 women were included in the study, representing roughly 2.5 percent of the female medical student population in Germany. They completed questionnaires designed to identify problems with sexual function, as well as other lifestyle factors including desire for children, pregnancy and whether they were smokers. In the six months prior to the study, 87.4 percent had used contraceptives, and 97.3 percent had been sexually active within the previous four weeks.
Of the participants, 32.4 percent were considered at risk for FSD: 5.8 percent at high risk for hypoactive sexual desire disorder, 1 percent for arousal disorder, 1.2 percent for decreased lubrication, 8.7 percent for orgasm disorder, 2.6 percent for satisfaction problems, and 1.1 percent for pain.
The participants were then divided into four subgroups of oral hormonal contraception (OC), non-oral hormonal contraception (NOHC), non-hormonal contraception (NHC), and no contraception (NC).
The group with the highest sexual function score and lowest risk for FSD was NHC (31.0), followed by NC (29.5) and OC (28.3), with NOHC (27.4) at highest risk. For desire and arousal, both OC and NOHC groups were at highest risk for FSD.
“In future research it would be interesting to see if there is a difference between the dosage of estrogen and the various synthetic progestins used in hormonal contraceptives in terms of an impact on female sexual function,” study researcher Dr. Harald Seeger, also of University of Tuebingen, Germany, was quoted as saying. “We would also urge some caution in interpretation of our present results and would like to highlight that this type of study cannot demonstrate causality but rather association and there might exist a multitude of factors that have an impact on female sexual function.”
SOURCE: Journal of Sexual Medicine, May 4, 2010
