Association of body weight and female sexual dysfunction: a case control study

Obesity is rapidly increasing worldwide with negative effects on women's health, psychosocial factors and quality of life. Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is a major public health problem that is worrying for many women physically, emotionally and socially.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of body weight with FSD and sexual satisfaction, in Ilam, western Iran, in 2010 to 2011.

This was a case-control study on 120 women aged 18-50 years [64 with FSD (case), 64 without FSD (control)] married, from Ilam-IR, who were interviewed as per the Iranian version of Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were recorded by researchers. The subjects were randomly selected from primary health centers.

FSFI score was significantly lower in overweight women (P < 0.05). FSFI strongly correlated with body mass index (BMI) (r = -0.68, P < 0.001) and waist-to-hip ratio (r = -0.29, P < 0.05) in women with FSD. Of sexual function parameters, there was a strong and inverse correlation between BMI and arousal (r = -0.71, P < 0.001), lubrication (r = -0.61, P < 0.001), orgasm (r = -0.52, P < 0.001) and satisfaction (r = -0.54, P < 0.001), while pain (r = -0.12, P > 0.05) and desire (r = -0.17, P > 0.05) did not correlate with BMI. There was an association between BMI and extreme satisfaction (r = -0.28, P < 0.05). Extreme physical pleasure (r = -0.19, P > 0.05) and extreme emotional satisfaction (r = -0.16, P > 0.05) were not correlated with BMI.

Overweight and obesity negative affect sexuality in women with sexual dysfunction. A systematic evaluation of sexual function to disclose a cause and effect relationship between obesity and FSD is suggested.