Quality of sexual life of women on oral contraceptive continued-regimen: pilot study
Caruso, S.; Malandrino, C.; Cicero, C.; Ciancio, F.; Cariola, M.; Cianci, A.
Journal of Sexual Medicine 10(2): 460-466
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1743-6109 PMID: 23171201 DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.03004.xDocument Number: 564875
To date, women may use flexible oral contraceptive (OC) regimens. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of sexual life of healthy women on continued-regimen OCs. Fifty women (age range 18-38) were enrolled. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaires were used to investigate, respectively, sexual behavior and the quality of life (QoL) of women on OC for 72 days with a 4-day hormone-free interval, for two cycles. Both the FSFI and the SF-36 were administered before starting OC intake, at the first (72-82 days) and the second (144-154 days) follow-ups. The main outcomes are the FSFI and the SF-36 questionnaires. The FSFI score obtained at the first follow-up detected a worsening with respect to baseline score (P < 0.05). The score obtained at the second follow-up detected an improvement with respect to both the baseline and the first follow-up total scores (P < 0.05). QoL improved at the first follow-up only as regards body pain (P < 0.05), and at the second follow-up as regards: physical role, body pain, general health, vitality, and social function (P < 0.05). The use of continued-regimen OCs is able to improve the sexual behavior and the QoL of women.
Document emailed within 0-6 h
