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Review
. 2024 Jun;51(2):223-239.
doi: 10.1016/j.ogc.2024.03.002.

Female Sexual Health: Screening and Evaluation

Sharon J Parish  1 , Rachel Pope  2
Affiliations
Review

Female Sexual Health: Screening and Evaluation

Sharon J Parish et al. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Female sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent, affecting 30% to 50% of cisgender women globally. Low sexual desire, sexual arousal disorder, and orgasm disorder affect 10% to 20%, 6% to 20%, and 4% to 14% of women, respectively. Dyspareunia or pain with intercourse affects 8% to 22% of women. Universal screening is recommended; and a thorough medical history and physical examination are the foundations of evaluation and assessment. Laboratory tests and imaging are sometimes warranted, but referral to a sexual medicine expert is suggested if the practitioner is unfamiliar or uncomfortable with treatment.

Keywords: Female orgasm disorder; Female sexual arousal disorder; Hypoactive sexual desire disorder; Screening sexual problems; Sexual dysfunction; Sexual pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure S.J. Parish serves as a consultant for Dare Bioscience and received no funding for this article. R. Pope serves as a speaker for Astellas, a consultant for Johnson and Johnson Global Public Health, Materna MD, Mim, and Stardust, and received no funding for this article.