Bariatric surgery may lead to improvements in women’s sexual function, reproductive hormone levels, and psychosocial health that can last for at least two years, according to American researchers.
Their report, published in November in JAMA Surgery, examined the ways bariatric surgery affected sexual health, an area that is not always considered in scientific research.
In previous research, they found that just over half of women seeking bariatric surgery had some degree of sexual dysfunction and distress.
Obesity may also lead to problems with female sexual hormones, which can contribute to sexual problems.
For the current study, the researchers worked with 106 obese women between the ages of 25 and 60 (median age 41) who were participants in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery project. Their median body mass index was 44.5.
A variety of questionnaires were used to assess the women’s sexual health, quality of life, and symptoms of depression. One questionnaire, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) evaluates several domains, including desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Higher scores on the FSFI indicate better sexual function.
Levels of estradiol, total testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, sex hormone binding globulin, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) were measured with blood tests.
Questionnaires and blood tests were completed before surgery and again at one- and two-year follow-up points after surgery.
Eighty-five women had gastric bypass surgery; the remaining 21 had gastric binding surgery. In the first year after their procedure, the women lost an average of 32.7% of their original body weight. In the second year, they lost another 33.5%, on average.
After one year, the women had improved scores on the overall FSFI assessment and the desire and satisfaction domains. In two years, they also had improvement in the arousal and lubrication domains.
Also, the women with the lowest baseline FSFI scores saw substantial improvement after a year, reaching a similar level as the women who had the best sexual functioning at baseline.
Levels of most hormones improved after a year, except for DHEA-S, which improved after two years.
Quality of life also improved for the women after bariatric surgery, with a decrease in depressive symptoms and improvements in body image and relationship satisfaction.
“These results suggest that improvements in sexual health may be added to the list of benefits associated with large weight losses seen with bariatric surgery. Future studies should investigate if these changes endure over longer periods of time, and they should investigate changes in sexual functioning in men who undergo bariatric surgery,” the authors wrote.
Resources
JAMA Surgery
Sarwer, David B., PhD, et al.
“Changes in Sexual Functioning and Sex Hormone Levels in Women Following Bariatric Surgery”
(Full-text. November 4, 2013)
http://archsurg.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1764857&resultClick=3
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
“Sexual Function Dramatically Improves in Women Following Bariatric Surgery, Penn Study Finds”
(Press release. November 4, 2013)
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2013/11/sarwer/