Quality of life in female patients with multiple sclerosis: the impact of sexual dysfunction

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a degenerative neurological disease that usually appears between the ages of 20 and 50 years. Sexuality issues are important factors that affect the quality of life of patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in Ukrainian women with MS, by administering the Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexual Function Questionnaire (MSISQ-19), and to correlate it with quality of life, both overall and specific components, measured using a disease-specific inventory — the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54).
Methods: 116 female patients aged from 18 to 49 years participated in the research and were included in the study. All participants completed the Ukrainian validated versions of the MSISQ-19 and the MSQOL-54, and correlations between sexual dysfunction and quality of life components were analyzed.
Results: Comparison of the MSQOL-54 items between the study groups showed that virtually all indicators were significantly lower in the group of patients with sexual dysfunction than in the group without sexual dysfunction. It was found that in women with MS, the difference between the MSQOL-54 questionnaire subscale scores in the groups with and without sexual dysfunction is offset with increasing age (after 39 years).
Conclusion: Female sexual dysfunction is a common symptom among Ukrainian women with MS; it is influenced by age and by disease severity, and it significantly affects quality of life, both overall and most of its components.

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