Prevalence and Factors Associated with Sexual Dysfunction among Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome is common gastrointestinal problem often linked to sexual and psychological disorders. Sexual dysfunction is not adequately recognized as one of the problems in IBS and there is scarcity of evidence from India using valid instruments for measuring sexual function. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in patients with IBS and to evaluate any associations with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at JSS Hospital, Mysuru including 382 patients diagnosed with IBS based on Rome IV criteria. Patients were selected using purposive consecutive sampling method. Socio-demographic and clinical information was collected from the patients using a structured proforma and sexual dysfunction was evaluated with the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale. The Chi-square test and independent samples t-test were used for testing the associations. Binary logistic regression determined the independent risk factors associated with sexual dysfunction.
Results: Sexual dysfunction was found in 46.3% of the participants. It was observed from the results of the regression analysis that marriage (AOR 3.64), IBS-C (AOR 8.66), and older age (AOR 1.15) are the risk factors for sexual dysfunction and the duration of the illness was a protective factor (AOR 0.67). Sex did not show a significant association with sexual dysfunction.
Conclusions: Almost half of the patients with IBS suffer from sexual dysfunction, especially married patients, older patients and patients with IBS-C.