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. 2020 Apr 16;20(1):73.
doi: 10.1186/s12905-020-00939-1.

Association between type 1 diabetes and female sexual dysfunction

Virginia Zamponi  1   2 , Rossella Mazzilli  3 , Olimpia Bitterman  2 , Soraya Olana  1 , Cristina Iorio  1 , Camilla Festa  2 , Chiara Giuliani  2 , Fernando Mazzilli  1 , Angela Napoli  2
Affiliations

Association between type 1 diabetes and female sexual dysfunction

Virginia Zamponi et al. BMC Womens Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study aims to evaluate: 1) the prevalence of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) in women affected by type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and the control group; 2) the correlation between duration of DM, HbA1C levels and sexual life quality; 3) the relationship between different methods of insulin administration and sexual life quality; 4) the correlation between FSD and diabetes complications.

Methods: We selected 33 women with type 1 DM and 39 healthy women as controls. Each participant underwent a detailed medical history and physical examination and completed the 6-item Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire (FSFI-6). In patients affected by type 1 DM, the different methods of insulin administration (Multi Drug Injection - MDI or Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion - CSII) and the presence of DM complications were also investigated.

Results: The prevalence of FSD (total score ≤ 19) was significantly higher in the type 1 DM group than in the control group (12/33, 36.4% and 2/39, 5.2%, respectively; p = 0.010). No statistically significant differences were found regarding FSD according to the presence of complications, method of insulin administration or previous pregnancies.

Conclusions: This study underlined that FSD is higher in women affected by type 1 DM than in healthy controls. This could be due to the diabetic neuropathy/angiopathy and the type of insulin administration. Therefore, it is important to investigate FSD in diabetic women, as well as erectile dysfunction in diabetic men.

Keywords: BMI; CSII; Diabetes complications; Diabetes mellitus; FSFI; Female sexual dysfunction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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