For a study, researchers sought to assess the female sexual function (FSF) following renal transplantation (RT) and compare it to that of age-matched healthy women (control).
The study included 100 RT women in active sexual activity and of reproductive age. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to assess sexual function. They compared the average scores across all FSFI domains to those of sexually active, healthy girls who were age-matched. Additionally, they compared 54 married females prior to RT’s current FSFI to their pre-transplant condition. After RT, factors influencing the FSF were evaluated.
The RT group showed statistically reduced sexual desire than the control group (P<.001), but there were no statistically significant differences in arousal, lubrication, orgasm, pleasure, pain, or the overall FSFI score (P>.05). Among RT-females, 83% had a normal sexual function, and 83.7% of the control had normal sexual function (P=.8). After RT, there was a statistically significant improvement in all categories (P<.001) with the exception of pain score (P=.8), and the FSFI score improved considerably from 20.7±5.4 to 27.8±3.1 (P<.001) and 85.2% of patients had normal sexual function compared to 22.2% before RT (P<.001). The only found factor linked to FSD was female circumcision (P=.02).
Patients with ESRD who got successful RT had considerably improved female sexual function. With the exception of decreased sexual desire, sexual function after RT was comparable to that of healthy control.
Reference: goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(22)00081-4/fulltext
