The impact of oral contraception with ethinyl estradiol and chlormadinone acetate on sexual function of women

Abstract

Hormonal contraception influences various areas of female health and behavior. The study group included 41 women aged 18-25 (mean age 22.2 ± 3.4) years who used oral contraception with 3 mg of ethinyl estradiol and 2 mg of chlormadinone acetate for six months. The mean body mass index (BMI) of women from the study group was 23. 5 ± 2.3 kg/m2. The exclusion criteria from the study group where contraindications for hormonal contraception (liver disease, porphyria, thrombosis, hormonally dependent cancer, and migraine). The control group included 31 women aged 18-25 (mean age 21.6 ± 2.4) years who did not use hormonal contraception. The mean BMI of controls was 22.4 ± 1.7 kg/m2. Both the age and the BMI of controls were no statistically different from the study group. The sexual function of the studied women was assessed with the use of Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). FSFI is a multidimensional self-reporting tool for the assessment of female sexual function. It consists of six domains: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain (with 19 items). There were no statistically relevant differences between the study group and the controls in relations to the FSFI parameters. There is no impact of oral contraception with 3 mg of ethinyl estradiol and 2 mg of chlormadinone acetate on sexual function of users.