Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2011;33(5):219-224
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032011000500003
To compare the sexual function of healthy adult pregnant women with that of gestational diabetes patients (GDM) in the third trimester. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled two groups of women managed antenatal care clinics. Inclusion criteria were: maternal age .20 years, gestational age at least 28 weeks, being in a heterosexual relationship with the same partner for at least 6 months, and being able to read. We excluded women with a medical recommendation for sexual abstinence due to clinical or obstetric disorders; hypertension controlled through medications; pregnancy resulting from rape; absent or sexually unavailable partner in the last month; hospital admission in the last month; use of vaginal creams in the last 30 days; multiple pregnancy, regular use of alcohol or illicit drugs or use of medications that can interfere with sexual function. Eighty-seven patients fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in the study. The Sexual Quotient . Feminine Version (QS-F) questionnaire was used to assess sexual function. Student's t and X² tests were used to compare differences between groups and p<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The mean gestational age of the participants was 34 weeks. There were no significant differences in the mean QS-F scores between groups (62.5 healthy vs 62.8 GDM women, p=0.9). Approximately half the participants (47 and 47.5% of the healthy and GDM women, respectively, p=0.9) had total scores up to 60, indicative of dysfunction in one of the assessed domains (desire, sexual satisfaction, arousal, orgasm, dyspareunia and vaginismus). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of sexual dysfunction was high among women in the third trimester of pregnancy and did not differ significantly between healthy women and women with GDM.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2010;32(3):139-143
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032010000300007
PURPOSE: to identify if there is a difference in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and in the sexual domain scores between a group of women attended at a public service and a group attended at a private service, and to investigate if there is an association between sexual dysfunction, family income and educational status. METHODS: transversal study including 201 sexually active women aged from 18 to 45 years, 90 of them from a public service and 111 from private services. We evaluated age, marital status, use of hormonal contraception, income and educational status, and all women were submitted to the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), an instrument for the evaluation of their sexuality. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 15.0, was used for statistical analysis. The χ2 test was applied for categorical variables and the Student's t-test to independent samples. RESULTS: there was no significant difference regarding the prevalence of sexual dysfunction between groups (public versus private) (20 and 23.4%, p=0.5), or concerning the domain scores, desire (3.9±1.3 and 3.8±1.0, p=0.6), sexual arousal (4.5±0.8 and 4.4±0.9, p=0.5), lubrication (5.2±1.2 and 5.0±0.9, p=0.1), orgasm (5.0±1.2 and 4.9±1.1, p=0.5), satisfaction (5.2±1.2 and 5.1±1.0, p=0.9), and pain (5.3±1.1 and 5.2±1.0, p=0.8). Sexual dysfunction was detected in 28% of the women with income between two and four minimum wages, in 17.5% of those with an income of five wages or more, and in 14.3% among those with an income of one wage or less (p=0,1). The dysfunction occurred in 30.2% of women with elementary education, in 24.2% of those with high school education and in 13.4% of those with higher education (p=0.09). CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction or in the sexual domain scores between groups, nor was there an association with income or education status.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(5):257-262
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032005000500005
PURPOSE: to verify if the high frequency of vaginal intercourses and the use of doushing interferes with vaginal microbiota. METHODS: ninety-seven women were examined at a health center located in the prostitution area of the city of Campinas, and evaluated in a prospective cross-sectional study. Anamnesis determined the frequency of vaginal intercourse and the use of douching in the 44 sex professionals and 53 non-professionals studied. The vaginal content was collected with a sterile Dacron swab, from the right vaginal wall, and placed on to two glass laminas. The vaginal microbiota smear stained by the Gram technique was studied with light microcopy using immersion lens and the data were analyzed. The sex professionals and non-professionals presented mean age of 24.9±6.4 and 31.5±9.7, habit of smoking in 52.2 and 24.5%, the use of vaginal lubricants in 56.8 and 0%, and the use of condoms in 100 and 41.5% of the cases, respectively. RESULTS: only 1.8% of the women in the control group had seven or more sexual intercourses per week, contrasting evidently with the sex professionals (97.7%). There were no significant differences regarding race, educational level and number of pregnancies. Bacterial vaginosis and abnormal vaginal flora were more observed in sex professionals (p=0.02 and 0.001) and were associated with the high frequency (seven times or more) of weekly vaginal intercourses (p=0.04 and 0.001). Cytolytic vaginosis was more related to non-professionals (p=0.04) and to a lower frequency of sexual intercourses (p=0.04). The use of doushing was more common in the sex professionals (p=0.002). However, this practice was not associated either with the vaginal microbiota problems or with the presence of vulvovaginitis. CONCLUSIONS: sex professionals with seven or more sexual intercourses per week presented a higher frequency of bacterial vaginosis and abnormal vaginal flora. The doushing habit did not interfere with the vaginal environment ecosystem of the studied women.