TY - JOUR
T1 - Vaginal Laxity, Sexual Distress, and Sexual Dysfunction
T2 - A Cross-Sectional Study in a Plastic Surgery Practice
AU - Qureshi, Ali A.
AU - Sharma, Ketan
AU - Thornton, Melissa
AU - Myckatyn, Terence M.
AU - Tenenbaum, Marissa M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Dr Myckatyn receives investigator-initiated grant funding, consultant, and advisory board fees from Allergan (Dublin, Ireland), and investigator-initiated research grant and advisory board fees from Viveve (Englewood, CO). Dr Tenenbaum receives grant funding and consultant fees from Allergan, grant funding from Mentor (Santa Barbara, CA), and advisory board fees from Viveve. The other authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc.
PY - 2018/7/13
Y1 - 2018/7/13
N2 - Background: Sexual health issues can be characterized by vaginal laxity (VL), sexual distress, and sexual dysfunction. The epidemiology of these issues in plastic surgery patients, and especially breast cancer survivors, remains poorly understood. Objectives: To prospectively assess sexual health issues in a plastic surgery patient population with and without breast cancer. Methods: A prospective cohort study was created in our practice from June to August 2017 with administration of a survey including the vaginal laxity questionnaire (VLQ), female sexual distress scale-revised (FSDS-R), and female sexual function index (FSFI). Multivariate logistic regression identified the controlled effect of patient variables on development of sexual health issues. Results: Of 291 patients solicited, 239 completed the survey (37.7% breast cancer survivors vs 62.3% without). Prevalence of VL was nearly 1 in 6 women. Of these, 46.0% met criteria for sexual distress (FSDS-R ≥ 11.0) and 64.8% had sexual dysfunction (FSFI ≤ 26.5). Breast cancer survivors exhibited significantly greater overall sexual dysfunction (P < 0.001) and greater dysfunction within all FSFI domains of desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain (all P < 0.02). On multivariate regression, number of vaginal deliveries predicted development of VL (OR 1.87, P < 0.001), presence of VL predicted sexual distress (OR 3.01, P = 0.007), while history of breast cancer predicted sexual dysfunction (OR 1.87, P < 0.05). Conclusions: Sexual health issues are prevalent amongst plastic surgery patients. Aesthetic practices can improve patients' quality of life by focusing on these areas. Potential therapeutic options to address sexual health issues should consider addressing vaginal laxity.
AB - Background: Sexual health issues can be characterized by vaginal laxity (VL), sexual distress, and sexual dysfunction. The epidemiology of these issues in plastic surgery patients, and especially breast cancer survivors, remains poorly understood. Objectives: To prospectively assess sexual health issues in a plastic surgery patient population with and without breast cancer. Methods: A prospective cohort study was created in our practice from June to August 2017 with administration of a survey including the vaginal laxity questionnaire (VLQ), female sexual distress scale-revised (FSDS-R), and female sexual function index (FSFI). Multivariate logistic regression identified the controlled effect of patient variables on development of sexual health issues. Results: Of 291 patients solicited, 239 completed the survey (37.7% breast cancer survivors vs 62.3% without). Prevalence of VL was nearly 1 in 6 women. Of these, 46.0% met criteria for sexual distress (FSDS-R ≥ 11.0) and 64.8% had sexual dysfunction (FSFI ≤ 26.5). Breast cancer survivors exhibited significantly greater overall sexual dysfunction (P < 0.001) and greater dysfunction within all FSFI domains of desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain (all P < 0.02). On multivariate regression, number of vaginal deliveries predicted development of VL (OR 1.87, P < 0.001), presence of VL predicted sexual distress (OR 3.01, P = 0.007), while history of breast cancer predicted sexual dysfunction (OR 1.87, P < 0.05). Conclusions: Sexual health issues are prevalent amongst plastic surgery patients. Aesthetic practices can improve patients' quality of life by focusing on these areas. Potential therapeutic options to address sexual health issues should consider addressing vaginal laxity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051185816&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/asj/sjx255
DO - 10.1093/asj/sjx255
M3 - Article
C2 - 29370358
AN - SCOPUS:85051185816
SN - 1090-820X
VL - 38
SP - 873
EP - 880
JO - Aesthetic surgery journal
JF - Aesthetic surgery journal
IS - 8
ER -