PREVALENCE OF SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS, AMONG WOMEN SEEKING INFERTILITY TREATMENT AT SAINT PAUL’S HOSPITAL MILLENNIUM MEDICAL COLLEGE CENTER FOR FERTILITY AND REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Sexual health is defined as a dynamic state involving erotic and reproductive experiences and fulfillment within a broader physical, emotional, interpersonal, social, and spiritual sense of well-being. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction among infertile women in studies is in the range of 35.6% to 87.1%. Among the different domains of Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) the most commonly affected was arousal-sensation at 80.2%, desire 59.9% and orgasm 22.8%. Factors associated with sexual dysfunction include age, pregnancy, child birth and breastfeeding, interpersonal relationship, socioeconomic factors like poor educational level and low income, past history of sexual abuse, circumcision, menopause, certain medications like hormonal contraceptives and poor health. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude of female sexual dysfunction and associated factors among infertile women at St Paul’s hospital Millennium medical college center for fertility and reproductive medicine, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods and Materials: A cross sectional survey of women seeking treatment at st Paul’s millennium medical college infertility center in Addis Ababa Ethiopia from August to September 2024GC was conducted on 215 women. Women were selected with a systematic random sampling and modified form of Amharic version of female sexual function index was used for data collection. The data collected using kobo tool box was exported and analyzed with SPSS v28. RESULTS: The study showed that prevalence of female sexual dysfunction among infertile women was 80.4% when assessed by the Female sexual function index (FSFI). The mean age of participants was 33 years. The most commonly affected domains were arousal, lubrication and pain affecting 100% of the participants. “History of gynecologic surgery" demonstrated a statistically significant association (AOR = 1.55, p = 0.031). Unfortunately the specific types of procedures were not assessed.Otherwise there was no statistically significant association between ii female sexual dysfunction and several independent variables, including age, physical activity, income, educational level, religion and chronic medical illness. CONCLUSION: In conclusion in this study 4 out of 5 infertile women had sexual dysfunction which is significantly higher than general population. There was a weak statistically insignificant negative correlation between duration of infertility and FSD. It is important to note that while "history of surgery" showed a statistically significant association with FSD, further research is needed to explore the nature and direction of this relationship.