Female Sexual Dysfunction

Physicians who deal with women, whether family practitioners or Ob-Gyns, often hesitate to bring up sexual issues with patients. However, studies in specific groups of patients such as diabetics and cancer patients have shown that patients not only want to talk about sexual issues, but also expect physicians to bring up the subject. Physicians are often uncomfortable with these issues for various reasons that will be discussed below. Physicians who do talk about sexual issues with patients tend to discuss these issues more frequently with men than with women, and with younger than with older patients. Studies have indicated, however, that there is no age group above which sexual concerns are not important.

Taking a sexual history benefits not only the patient but also the physician. In one study involving general internists, taking a sexual history yielded information of medical importance in 26% of cases, and affected treatment and follow-up plans in 16%. Similar studies have not been undertaken in the gynecological population but one might speculate that based on the nature of gynecological practice, these figures would be even higher in the gynecological population. For that reason alone, taking a sexual history should be viewed as an essential component of female medical care.

Last Modified: July 16, 2008