Association Between Obesity, Abdominal Obesity and Sexual Dysfunction Among Korean Women

Kim, Hye eun; Jo, You ri; Park, Hye soon

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite its prevalence, female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is often under diagnosed mainly due to the lack of awareness and reliable information on this condition. METHOD: Sexual function was assessed according to a self-administered female sexual function questionnaire. A face-to-face interview was done with all study subjects. Weight (kg), height (cm) and waist circumference (cm) were measured in a total of 222 women, who had visited the outpatient clinic of Family Medicine Department at a University affiliated hospital.
RESULTS
The patient mean age was 45.2 +/- 7.7 years, the mean weight was 59.0 +/- 8.1 kg, the mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.6 +/- 3.2 kg/m2 ,and the mean waist circumference was 78.7 +/- 8.0 cm. The items on the questionnaire were classified into 5 parts: sexual drive, sexual excitement, sexual activity, sexual satisfaction, and Spouse-related factor. Women with BMI greater than 25 kg/m2 were classified as "obese" and reported lower scores on sexual satisfaction, sexual activity, and overall totalscore, and less frequent sexual intercourse. Abdominally obese women, waist circumferences of more than 85 cm, also reported similar results. Controlling for potential confounding factors did not change either of these findings demonstrating a statistically significant association between obesity and sexual dysfunction .
CONCLUSION
Both total obesity and abdominal obesity were associated with lower sexual satisfaction and less frequent intercourse in Korean women.