Sexual Dysfunction in Women with Depression: A Hospital-Based Cross-sectional Comparative Study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: There is a need to explore the sexual functioning of women with depression as one part of sexuality is that it helps in developing an intimate emotional and physical relationship with another person, and this relationship may serve as a buffer against life stresses. Our aim was to study the prevalence and types of sexual dysfunction in depressed women patients and to compare them with non-depressed women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 270 participants who attended a teaching hospital were selected for the study - 135 cases and 135 controls. Sociodemographic and clinical details were collected. Mini International Neuropsychiatry Interview (M.I.N.I), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Arizona Sexual Experiences (ASEX) scale, and Female Sexual Functioning Index (FSFI) scale were used. Sexual dysfunction was assessed in both groups. RESULTS: Among the cases, 47.40% had mild depression, 44.44% had moderate depression, and 8.15% were severely depressed. On the ASEX, 46.66% of the cases had sexual dysfunction, while it was only 8.89% among the controls. The difference in sexual dysfunction among cases and controls was statistically significant. Using the FSFI, 40% of the cases had female sexual dysfunction (FSD), and it was only 11.1% in controls. CONCLUSION: Sexual dysfunction was more common in females with clinical depression than in those without depression. Numerous factors can operate in the causation of FSD. This study underlines the importance of screening females with depression for FSD, for its early diagnosis and management.
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One of the most important causes of sexual dysfunction in women is depression.
“One of the most important causes of sexual dysfunction in women is depression, which has been proven in various studies [40, 41].”
From Effect of l-arginine compared to placebo on sexual function in women with major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial (2024) · cites this paper as [40]
The paper's introduction says earlier studies suggested depression increases the risk of female sexual dysfunction, and its Results report significantly more dysfunction among women with depression than controls. That supports a link, but this cross-sectional study does not establish that depression is a cause, let alone one of the most important causes. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Authors
- Reddy, R. M., Saravanan, R. A., Praharaj, S. K., & Thirunavukarasu, M.
- Affiliations
- SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre (IN)
- Kasturba Medical College, Manipal (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Saravanan, R. Arul
- Venue
- Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-01
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 46-51
- ISSN
- 0253-7176 (ISSN-L)
- 0975-1564
- PMC
- PMC6970310
- OpenAlex
- W3000133600
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 2.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- sexual dysfunction, female sexual dysfunction, depression, women, prevalence, Arizona Sexual Experience Scale, depression screening, intimate relationships
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