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. 2015 Jul;58(4):302-8.
doi: 10.5468/ogs.2015.58.4.302. Epub 2015 Jul 16.

Dose-response relationship between cigarette smoking and female sexual dysfunction

Joohee Choi  1 , Dong Wook Shin  2 , Seungmee Lee  1 , Myung Jae Jeon  1 , Sun Min Kim  3 , Belong Cho  2 , Seung Mi Lee  4
Affiliations

Dose-response relationship between cigarette smoking and female sexual dysfunction

Joohee Choi et al. Obstet Gynecol Sci. 2015 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether smoking is a risk factor for female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and to determine the relationship between the cumulative smoking dose and FSD in premenopausal women.

Methods: The study population consisted of sexually active premenopausal women. The frequency of FSD and female sexual function index (FSFI) total score were evaluated according to the smoking status (never/former and current smokers). Evaluation of sexual function was done using FSFI questionnaire, and women with FSFI score of ≤26.55 were considered to have FSD. In current smokers, sexual function was also evaluated according to the cumulative smoking dose and nicotine dependency.

Results: A total of 900 women were included, and the frequency of current smokers and the frequency of FSD were 62 (6.9%) and 496 (55.1%), respectively. In current smokers, the frequency of FSD was significantly higher and the median total FSFI score was significantly lower than in never/former smokers, and this difference of FSD remained significant after adjustment for confounding variables. Among current smokers, the cumulative smoking dose (pack-years) and the total FSFI score showed negative correlation, in which increased cumulative smoking dose was associated with lower total FSFI score (r=-0.278, P<0.05). In terms of nicotine dependency, the total FSFI score of moderately to heavily nicotine dependent smokers was significantly lower than that of lightly dependent smokers.

Conclusion: In premenopausal women, current smoking was an independent risk factor for FSD. And cumulative smoking dose and nicotine dependency were associated with higher risk of FSD.

Keywords: Dose-response relationship; Female; Nicotine; Sexual dysfunctions; Smoking.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. The relationship between cumulative smoking dose and female sexual function index (FSFI) score among current smokers (r=-0.278, P<0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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