Sexual function in young women with spontaneous 46,XX primary ovarian insufficiency
Received 4 May 2007; received in revised form 15 August 2007; accepted 15 August 2007. published online 25 October 2007.
Objective
To assess sexual function in women with spontaneous 46,XX primary ovarian insufficiency after at least 3 months of a standardized hormone replacement regimen.
Design
Cross-sectional cohort, controlled.
Setting
National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center.
Patient(s)
Women with primary ovarian insufficiency (n = 143) and regularly menstruating controls (n = 70).
Intervention(s)
Self-administered questionnaires, 100 μg/day E2 patch, oral medroxyprogesterone acetate 10 mg for 12 days each month for patients.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Derogatis Interview for Sexual Function Self-Report (DISF-SR).
Result(s)
Women with primary ovarian insufficiency had significantly lower DISF-SR composite scores compared with control women. Their serum total testosterone levels were significantly correlated with DISF-SR composite score, although this accounted for only 4% of the variance in this measure. Patients with testosterone levels below normal tended to have lower DISF-SR composite scores. Of patients with primary ovarian insufficiency, 9 of 127 (7%) scored below the second percentile on the composite sexual function score, compared with 1 of 49 control women (2%).
Conclusion(s)
As assessed by the DISF-SR, sexual function is in the normal range for most young women with 46,XX spontaneous primary ovarian insufficiency who are receiving physiologic E2 replacement. However, as a group, these young women score significantly lower on this sexual function scale than control women.
aIntegrative Reproductive Medicine Unit, Reproductive Biology and Medicine Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
bPharmacy Department, Warren O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
cBiometry and Mathematical Statistics Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Reprint requests: Lawrence M. Nelson, M.D., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, CRC, Room 1-3330, 10 Center Drive, MSC-1103, Bethesda, MD 20892-1103 (FAX: 301-402-0574).
Supported by the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. Vien H. Vanderhoof and Lawrence M. Nelson are commissioned officers in the United States Public Health Service.
ABSTRACT