Sexual Function in Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background: sexual function is one of the most important aspects of life affected by chronic disorders. objectives: this study aims to investigate sexual function in women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. patients and methods: this case-control study was conducted on 50 women with rheumatoid arthritis as the case group and 50 healthy women as the control group in hafez hospital, shiraz, iran. data were collected by demographic and the female sexual function index questionnaires from june to august, 2013. statistical analysis that included the chi square test, independent sample t-test, and linear regression were carried out using spss software (version 16). results: two groups were matched according to age, educational level, occupation, menarche age, husband’s age, marital age, gravidity and menstrual cycle status (p > 0.05). total score from the female sexual function index in the case group (15.9 ± 11.16) was significantly lower than control group (27.29 ± 5.67). also, in all subscales, the score for sexual function (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain) in the case group was lower than the control group (p < 0.001). from patients’ perspective, fatigue, limitation of joint movement, vaginal dryness, and reduction of sexual desire affected their sexual function. also, linear regression indicated a negative association between duration of disease and sexual dysfunction. conclusions: our findings show that rheumatoid arthritis adversely effects women’s sexual function. thus, clinicians should pay attention to these patients regardless of symptom severity or treatment response.