Abstract
Objective: To investigate the impact of genital mutilation on the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in a cohort of Upper Egyptian women.
Study design: This was a case–control hospital based descriptive study
Patients and methods: A questionnaire was used for data collection from 320 participants with genital mutilation (cases) and 320 participants without genital mutilation (controls) from March to June 2015. Assessment of participant’s sexual function was performed using an Arabic version of the female sexual function index (FSFI).
Results: Only about 15 and 40% of the participants in the case group and the control group, respectively, had no sexual dysfunction. The mean total FSFI score was 22.39±3.15 and 32.78±4.11 and the mean number of domains denoting a particular sexual dysfunction was 5.22±0.74 and 3.17±0.52 for the case and control groups, respectively (P<0.05). The number of participants with three or more domains denoting the presence of a particular sexual dysfunction was significantly higher in the case group than that in the control group. The means of all domains of the FSFI were significantly higher in the control group, except for the domains of lubrication and pain.
Conclusion: The prevalence of sexual dysfunction is higher in women with genital mutilation. There is a need to raise awareness and competence of physicians in the identification and management of sexual problems in women with genital mutilation, which is prevalent in this locality.