Sexual functions and quality of life in women with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling disorder frequently following a chronic course and presenting with obsessions and/or compulsions. OCD is one of the most incapacitating disorders affecting the patient’s quality of life. Many aspects of quality of life are unfavorably affected by OCD. Problems related to sexual functions negatively affect the quality of life. Sexual problems of OCD patients induce quality-of-life impairments also. Reports of sexual dysfunctions of the women with OCD have appeared in the earlier literature. The present study aimed to compare women with OCD and a healthy group in terms of anxiety, depression, healthrelated quality of life and sexual function. The second purpose is to explore the relationship between sexual dysfunction and quality of life.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 123 women (41 patients, 82 controls). Participants were asked to complete questionnaires measuring anxiety, depression, quality of life, and sexual functioning. Patients and healthy controls were evaluated by the Beck Anxiety and Beck Depression Scale, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Turkish version of Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and demographics questionnaire.

Results: The OCD group had significantly higher depression and anxiety scores than the controls. The Short-Form 36 Health Survey scores were significantly lower in all eight dimensions compared with the reference group. The vitality (VT), physical functioning (PF), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH) perceptions, physical role (RP) functioning, emotional role (RE) functioning, social role (SF) functioning and mental health (MH) dimensions of the SF-36 scale were statistically poorer in the women with OCD. Scores in the FSFI domains desire, arousal, and lubrication were significantly lower in patients with OCD. Overall quality of life subscores were found to be significantly positively correlated with the arousal and lubrication domains. The SF-36 sub-scores, except physical functioning (PF), were found to be significantly positively correlated with the FSFI desire domain score of the women.

Conclusions: Problems with sexual functioning in patients with OCD should prompt physicians to routinely include sexual dysfunction when assessing a patient’s quality of life. This study aims to highlight the impact of sexual dysfunctions on the quality of life in women with OCD.