Female sexual function before and during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pandemic: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

Purpose To compare the female sexual function before and during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Methods Relevant studies were retrieved by online databases and manual searching reporting FSFI scores before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The methodological quality of reviewed articles was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and heterogeneity with the I-2 statistic. The standardized mean differences (SMDs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by random-effect meta-analyses. Results Four studies met the inclusion criteria reporting 1002 sexually active non-pregnant women comparing results of the 19-item FSFI. The meta-analysis of the overall FSFI score showed an SMD (95% CI) of -1.16 (-1.97 to -0.35), comparing the pandemic with the pre-pandemic scores. In addition, SMD scores for the FSFI domains were also significantly lower during the pandemic for arousal -0.80 (-1.13 to -0.48), orgasm -0.66 (-1.07 to -0.25), satisfaction -0.59 (-0.97 to -0.22), and pain -0.35 (-0.54 to -0.16), whereas there were not significant differences for desire and lubrication domains. There was a low risk of bias and the sensitivity analysis suggests that results are robust. Conclusion The available studies showed a lower overall FSFI score during the pandemic, suggesting an increased risk of female sexual dysfunction compared to prepandemic results. Also, there were increased risks of sexual arousal, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain disorders. However, there were no alterations in the desire and the lubrication domains. Limitations are related to the heterogeneity populations, and pandemic confounding and aggravating factors.

Automated summary

Based on the findings of this study, female sexual function showed a decline during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic compared to before the pandemic, indicating an increased risk of female sexual dysfunction. There were increased risks of sexual arousal, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain disorders. However, there were no significant differences in the desire and lubrication domains.