[Impact of inflammatory bowel disease on sexual function]

Like other chronic diseases, inflammatory bowel disease impairs the quality of life of affected individuals, with an impact on all phases of sexual functioning. The most important factors in this dysfunction are depressed mood, inflammatory activity and concomitant diseases. While the main objective of physicians is to improve the systemic and gastrointestinal symptoms of this disease, other factors are also involved in restoring quality of life. Although sexual problems are a concern to patients, this topic has been insufficiently studied and is not generally taken into account by physicians treating inflammatory bowel disease. If comprehensive care is to be provided to patients with inflammatory bowel disease, sexuality should be approached directly and patients should be referred to appropriate specialists if dysfunction is detected.