Psychosocial impact of chronic vulvovagina conditions
Jelovsek, J.Eric.; Walters, M.D.; Barber, M.D.
Journal of Reproductive Medicine 53(2): 75-82
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 0024-7758 PMID: 18357797 Document Number: 617378
OBJECTIVE: To describe the degree of psychosocial impairment resulting from chronic vulvovaginal disorders (VVDs).STUDY DESIGN: Seventy five consecutive women suffering from a chronic VVD were recruited and classified using current International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) classification criteria. They completed a 69-item, self-administered, comprehensive questionnaire to assess the impact of chronic VVD on psychosocial functioning and quality of life. Summary scores were calculated for 5 domains including pain, body image, relationships, emotion, quality of life and sexual function.RESULTS: After adjusting for age and duration of vulvovaginal symptoms, women with vulvodynia were more likely than women with other chronic VVDs to score significantly worse on relationship (p<0.001), emotion (p < 0.03) and physical activity (p = 0.001) areas. The majority of subjects suffered from a worsening impact of sexual function, and no differences were detected be-tween the groups. The overall intensity of vulvar or vaginal pain correlated weakly with the degree of psychosocial impairment in the domains of relationships, emotion and physical quality of life.CONCLUSION: Differences in quality of life exist between women with vulvodynia and those with other chronic VVDs. The presence, not the intensity, of vulvovaginal pain correlates with degree of psychosocial impairment.