Abstract

  Sexual function is an important part of women's lives and could be affected by several factors during menopause. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between Body Mass index (BMI) and sexual function in postmenopausal women. This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 405 postmenopausal women, aged 40 to 65 years, who were selected using a multi-stage sampling method. The data was collected through interviews using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire and a self-administered questionnaire. Participants' height and weight were measured using a calibrated scale and non-elastic gauge. The data was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. The mean total score of FSFI was 24.11 ± 6.04 and 61.0% of the participants had female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). The mean BMI and Waist to Hip Ratio were 29.47 ± 5.45 (Kg/m²) and 0.87 ± 0.08, respectively. Overall, 334 postmenopausal women were obese (39.0 percent) or overweight (43.5 percent). There was a significant correlation between FSFI total score and BMI (P = 0.031). Also, a significant negative correlation was found between pain domain score with BMI and waist to hip ratio (P <0.001). However, these results were not confirmed in the study of multiple linear regression. We concluded that obesity could have a negative impact on sexual function in postmenopausal women. This effect can be on the total score of sexual function and pain domain score. However, definitive conclusions in this area require more extensive studies.

Keywords: Menopause; Sexual Function; Obesity; Body Mass Index

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Citation

Citation: Masoumeh Simbar.,et al. “The Relationship between Sexual Function and Body Mass Index in Postmenopausal Women”. Acta Scientific Women's Health 2.3 (2020): 18-22.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Masoumeh Simbar., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.