Objective
To assess the association of common sleep disorders with female sexual dysfunction.
Materials and Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using the TriNetX Diamond Network. Adult women
diagnosed with insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, or circadian rhythm sleep disorder
were assessed to determine the association with female sexual dysfunction, hypoactive
sexual desire disorder, female orgasmic disorder, and female sexual arousal disorder.
A propensity-score matched control cohort for age, race, ethnicity, tobacco use, outpatient
service utilization, obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disease,
ischemic heart disease, and surgical procedures on the female genital system was generated,
excluding those with any sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, or morbid obesity with
alveolar hypoventilation. All cohorts excluded those with any antidepressant or antipsychotic
prescriptions.
Results
Our query yielded 1,317,491 women diagnosed with sleep apnea, 1,538,567 with insomnia,
and 58,902 with circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Women with sleep apnea and insomnia
had higher odds of hypoactive sexual desire disorder, female sexual arousal disorder,
and female orgasmic disorder compared to matched controls. Women with sleep apnea,
insomnia, or circadian rhythm sleep disorder all had a significantly higher odds of
female sexual dysfunction compared to matched controls.
Conclusion
In this large cross-sectional analysis, sleep disorders were strongly associated with
female sexual dysfunction. It is thus crucial for providers to screen for poor sleep
when conducting a thorough evaluation for sexual dysfunction in women to diagnose
highly prevalent sleep disorders and improve overall health.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 28, 2022
Accepted:
November 15,
2022
Received:
August 24,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofFootnotes
Financial Disclosure:The authors declare that they have no relevant financial interests.
Funding:None.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
