Researchers from Taiwan have discovered a significant correlation between women’s sexual function and the erectile function of their male partners.
While past research has shown a similar association, the authors pointed out that research involving nonclinical samples was limited. Their goal was to further investigate the link between female sexual function and a male partner’s sexual function.
Anonymous online surveys were completed by 632 heterosexual couples. For the women, sexual function was assessed using the 19-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), which addresses sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. In addition to the FSFI, women provided demographic information and answered questions about their relationship with their partners, their perceptions of their partner’s sexual dysfunction, urinary tract infections, and any comorbidities.
The men’s survey included the 15-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), which assesses erectile function, intercourse satisfaction, orgasmic function, sexual desire, and overall satisfaction. The men also answered questions about demographics, comorbidities, and their self-perceptions of their sexual dysfunctions.
For both the FSFI and the IIEF, higher scores indicate better sexual function.
The research team found the following:
- 15% of the men had mild to moderate erectile dysfunction (ED) and almost 43% of the women had sexual problems.
- Women whose partners had ED generally had lower scores on the FSFI, both overall and for the individual domains, when compared to women whose partners did not have ED.
- Women whose partners had ED also had a higher prevalence of sexual problems in every domain.
While the authors couldn’t prove that ED in the male partner caused sexual difficulties for women, they noted that “contextual factors” played a role in female sexual function. Also, past research has shown that treatment for a man’s ED can improve sexual functioning for his female partner. And in some cases, female sexual problems may contribute to a man’s ED.
Still, they concluded, there appears to be an “interdependence of male and female sexual function within the context of the couple.” These findings also “support the importance of screening the partner’s sexual function when treating the sexual problems of each gender.”
The study was published online in November in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Resources
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Jiann, Bang-Ping, MD, et al.
“Is Female Sexual Function Related to the Male Partners’ Erectile Function?”
(Full-text. First published online: November 21, 2012)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.03007.x/abstract