Female Sexual Function Status in Reproductive Age and Post-menopausal Age: Frequency and Associated Factors — A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Sexual function is an important aspect of women’s physical and psychological health, yet it is often overlooked due to cultural sensitivity. To our knowledge, no study in Iran — where sexual issues are rarely discussed — has compared the sexual function of reproductive-aged and post-menopausal women. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess and compare sexual function status and the frequency of sexual dysfunction between these two groups. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2020 using a multi-stage sampling method on 60 women of reproductive age and 60 women in post-menopausal age. Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to assess sexual function. Data were analyzed using the Student’s t-test, partial correlation coefficient, and Mann-Whitney test. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to control for potential confounding factors. Results: The frequency of low sexual function was 64.2% for women aged 21 - 27 years, 65.19% for women aged 28 - 33 years, 84.2% for women aged 34 - 39 years, and 90.5% for women aged 40 - 45 years. In menopausal women, this figure was 83.3%. The sexual function score of reproductive-aged women was significantly higher than that of post-menopausal women, with the difference observed in the total score and specifically in the "orgasm" dimension. The results for the stratified age groups showed that desire and arousal in women aged 21 - 27 were significantly better than those in post-menopausal women. Conclusions: Although the frequency of sexual dysfunction was high in both groups, post-menopausal women showed a higher frequency compared with reproductive-aged women. Thus, it is necessary for healthcare professionals to be sensitive and carefully evaluate all women, especially menopausal women who are more susceptible to sexual problems. Health providers should pay greater attention to these issues.