The Association Between Sexual Disorders and the Quality of Life of Woman Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: Findings of a Prospective, Observational, and Cross-Sectional Survey

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, whose symptoms include sexual disorders. Sexual dysfunctions can influence on quality of life (QOL) of patients with MS. Aim: To evaluate the occurrence of sexual disorders among women with MS and correlations between QOL, prevalence of sexual disorders, and level of sexual satisfaction. Methods: Polish women (n = 101) aged 22-66 years with diagnosed MS were included in the study. Main Outcome Measures: The Female Sexual Function Index, the Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life Questionnaire were used. In addition, an Authors-Designed Questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data. Results: More than half of the patients surveyed were totally or somewhat unsatisfied with their sex life, and 44.55% of the patients were diagnosed with significant sexual disorders. It was shown that patients with diagnosed sexual disorders and a low level of sexual satisfaction rated their QOL the lowest among all the surveyed patients. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that sexual disorders and the level of sexual satisfaction correlate significantly with QOL in patients with MS. Sexual dysfunctions are a significant problem in women with MS; thus, they should be considered with comprehensive care. Copyright (C) 2020, International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc.