A group of researchers from the Netherlands has investigated sexual function in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), finding that depression is an important factor.
IBD, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can have a dramatic impact on sexuality. Physical symptoms such as pain, fatigue, gas, and diarrhea are often intertwined with emotional aspects like depression, anxiety, and poor body image. Patients may feel less attractive and worry about mishaps – such as passing stool – during intimacy.
Dutch scientists wanted to learn more about the sexual effects of active disease and depression on patients with IBD, as these relationships have not been widely studied.
The study involved 287 IBD patients – 168 women (mean age 42.9, 39% with active disease) and 119 men (mean age 51.1, 31% with active disease). Another 106 women and 91 men without IBD served as age-matched controls.
Using web-based software, the participants provided information on their disease, quality of life, depression, fatigue, body image, and sexual function.
The researchers found that rates of sexual dysfunction between groups were not much different. However, there was a higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction among patients with active disease when compared to those in remission and the control groups.
Male patients with active disease tended to have more issues with orgasm and overall satisfaction than the control group and the men in remission. They also had more problems with erections and desire compared to those in remission.
Women with IBD also had higher rates of sexual dysfunction – especially with pain and lubrication – than their control group and remission counterparts.
The researchers found a strong association between depression and sexual dysfunction in the IBD patients as well.
“Depressive feelings and an impaired sexual function have an important impact on quality of life,” they wrote.
They added, “It is important to ask patients about fatigue, mood, and sexual function, and refer them for psychological or sex-therapeutic treatment when needed.”
The study was first published online in June in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
More information about sexual function in patients with IBD is available here.
Resources
International Society for Sexual Medicine
“Can inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affect a person’s sex life?”
https://www.issm.info/sexual-health-qa/can-inflammatory-bowel-disease-ibd-affect-a-persons-sex-life
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Bel, Linda G.J., MD, et al.
“Sexual Dysfunctions in Men and Women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
(Full-text. First published online: June 5, 2015)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsm.12913/full