Do Sexually Abstinent Women have more pelvic floor Disorders?A cross sectional, population based study

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: The aims were to establish the prevalence of sexually abstinent women because of Pelvic Floor Disorders (PFDs) in parous women, and to examine if abstinence was associated with symptoms of PFDs or functional anatomy of the pelvic floor.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of parous women responding to a questionnaire and undergoing pelvic floor examination. Distress for Urinary (UDI), Colorectal-Anal (CRADI), and Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POPDI) symptoms, Prevalence of Prolapse (POP-Q) ≥ grade 2, pelvic floor muscle injury on ultrasound and contraction (Modified Oxford Scale) were compared between sexually active women and abstinent women using Mann-Whitney U, logistic regression and Fisher’s exact tests.

Results: 1625 of 3115 women responded to the questionnaire, and 604 were examined. 1379 (85%) were sexually active, 22 (1.4%) were sexually abstinent because of PFDs and 224 (14%) for other reasons. Abstinent women because of PFDs had higher mean (SD) symptom scores [UDI 38.8 (16.8), CRADI 36.6 (21.8), POPDI 10.9 (10.4)] than sexually active women [UDI 9.8 (14.1), CRADI 11.1 (14.4), POPDI 2.3(5.5)] p0.05.

Conclusion: Symptoms of PFDs were more important than objective measures of prolapse, muscle injury and contraction for sexual activity in parous women.