Premature Ejaculation: Impact on the Female Partner.

Premature Ejaculation: Impact on the Female Partner, David L. Rowland, Valparaiso University; Stanley E. Althof, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; Donald L. Patrick, University of Washington; Carol Jamieson and Margaret Rothman, Johnson & Johnson

We aimed to provide information surrounding partner perceptions of ejaculatory function and to assess sexual satisfaction, distress, and interpersonal difficulty in female partners of men with and without a diagnosis of premature ejaculation (PE). Data were obtained from a 4-week, multi-center observational study that enrolled subjects with PE (n = 207) and without PE (n = 1,380) and their partners. Subjects were classified as PE or non-PE by a clinician according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. At Weeks 2 and 4 of the study, female partners completed single-item, patient-reported outcome measures that assessed female perception of subject control over ejaculation, satisfaction with sexual intercourse, and personal distress and interpersonal difficulty resulting from their partners' ejaculatory latency. Responses were compared between partners of men with and without PE using the 2-sample t-test. Compared with partners of men without PE, partners of men with PE had significantly lower perceptions of subject control over and ratings of satisfaction with sexual intercourse. In addition, compared with partners of men without PE, partners of men with PE had significantly higher levels of personal distress and interpersonal difficulty. Overall, female partners of men with PE reported lower satisfaction with sexual intercourse and greater personal distress and interpersonal difficulty compared with partners of men without PE.