Hypertension as a risk factor for female sexual dysfunction: cross-sectional study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the sexual dysfunction in hypertensive patients compared to normotensive patients. METHOD: this was a cross-sectional study. Samples were composed of 54 hypertensive patients and 54 normotensive patients. The female sexual dysfunction was evaluated by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). RESULTS: the average FSFI score differed highly between hypertensive and normotensive patients (22.4± 7.4 versus 26.8 ±5.4, p< 0.001). Among hypertensive patients, 63% showed sexual dysfunction in opposition to 39% of normotensive patients (p=0.02). Hypertensive women had 1.67 more chances of showing the dysfunction than women with normal blood pressure. CONCLUSION: the sexual dysfunction prevalence is higher in hypertensive than in normotensive women hence, hypertension is a potentiator factor for female sexual dysfunction.