Impaired sexual function in women with systemic lupus erythematosus: a cross-sectional study

The objectives of this paper are to compare sexual function and distress in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and in healthy controls; to determine the association between disease characteristics, quality of life, psychopathology and sexual function; and to compare sexual function and distress of women according to age (reproductive and nonreproductive-age women).

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 120 participants; 65 women had SLE (aged 18-65), and 55 were healthy, age-matched controls. The assessment included the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36), socio-demographic characteristics and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) and SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) in SLE patients only.

Of 65 eligible patients with SLE, 61 (94%) responded; of 55 control subjects, 53 (96%) responded. The FSFI total score and subscale scores for desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm and pain were significantly lower in patients with SLE. More somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobia, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, the Positive Symptom Total (PST), Positive Score Discomfort Index (PSDI), the use of psychotropic drugs, general health, vitality, social function, emotional role and mental health were significantly associated with changes in the patient group's sexuality. Multivariate analysis indicated that depression, PSDI and vitality were the variables significantly associated with low sexual function in patients with SLE.

Women with SLE reported significantly impaired sexual function compared with healthy controls. Impaired sexual function was associated with somatization, obsessive-compulsive behavior, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, hostility, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, PST, higher scores in the PSDI subscale, vitality, social functioning and mental health. These results indicate that, in daily practice, inquiring about sexuality and quality of life and screening for psychopathology are important for every patient with SLE, irrespective of their clinical characteristics.