Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction and its Characteristics in Women of the Valencian Community.

Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction and its Characteristics in Women of the Valencian Community, F. Sanchez, Servicio Valenciano de Salud, Spain; M. Perez Conchillo, J. Borras Valls, and O. Gomez Lloren, Instituto Espill, Spain; J. Aznar Vincente, SSIC-APM, Spain; A. Caballero Martin De Las Mulas, Clinicia La Costera, Spain

We investigated the prevalence sexual dysfunction (SD) in healthy women of the Valencian community and their characteristics by conducting a cross-sectional and multicentric study in healthy women of 18 to 65 years, excluding those with treatments or pathologies from recognized influence on the sexual function. Each woman answered the questionnaire on Women's Sexual Function (WSF) that was self-administered, with 14 questions, and validated in Spanish. Participants were 212 women (mean age = 40), all of them sexually active. Overall prevalence of SD was 27%, including reports of low desire (17%), problems with arousal (13%), problems with lubrication (14%), orgasm problems (10%), problems with vaginal penetration (5%), and anticipated anxiety to the sexual activity (7%). There was greater prevalence of SD in housewives (42% of them) and workers in the services sector (27% of them), and smaller prevalence in agricultural and industrial workers, sanitary personnel, education personnel, and students. The SD frequency increased as the level of education decreased. Women with SD reported less frequent sexual activity. The WSF questionnaire followed the criteria of the DSM-IV-TR and proposed a new model to approach "sexual disorders by pain" by means of "problems with vaginal penetration," which does not discriminate between dyspareunia and vaginismus.