Assessing female sexual dysfunction in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects mainly young people of reproductive age with significant lifelong repercussions, among which sexual dysfunction (SD) is one of the most neglected during routine clinical care.

To evaluate SD in female patients diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).

This cross-sectional analytic study was performed at the Santa Casa de São Paulo Hospital, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, São Paulo, Brazil, between November 2020 and March 2022. The sample included 80 female patients diagnosed with RRMS and 106 healthy controls. Questionnaires probing sexual dysfunction (the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire - MSISQ-19 and the Female Sexual Function Index - FSFI) and depression and anxiety (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - HADS, the Beck Depression Inventory - BDI; and the Beck Anxiety Inventory - BAI) were applied.

A high prevalence of SD in both groups (43.4% and 38.8% for the RRMS and control groups, respectively) was identified by the FSFI analysis. A statistically higher prevalence (56.3%) of sexual dysfunction was detected in RRMS patients when using the MSISQ-19 tool to assess sexuality in this population compared with the FSFI scale (p = 0.016).

A high prevalence of SD was found in both MS patients and healthy controls as measured by the FSFI. However, the specific tool (MSISQ-19) revealed a higher prevalence of SD in MS patients. Thus, the use of MSISQ-19 for the diagnosis and management of SD in this patient group is recommended.