Women on Dialysis Are Surprisingly Satisfied with Their Sex Lives

It turns out that sexual dysfunction for women on long-term hemodialysis is a lot less common than previously thought. Scientists have found that efforts to assess and treat sexual dysfunction among women on dialysis likely require one-on-one discussions between physicians and patients to identify the women who truly suffer from this problem.

Previous research has shown that sexual dysfunction is very common among women with end stage renal disease (ESRD) who are receiving chronic hemodialysis. Yet this research did not effectively distinguish sexual dysfunction/difficulty from sexual inactivity. That's why in this study, the researchers decided to differentiate between these two.

In order to estimate the prevalence of true sexual dysfunction, the researchers assessed sexual function in a group of 125 women on hemodialysis. Between 2009 and 2011, these women completed questionnaires on a monthly basis for six months and then quarterly thereafter.

So what did the scientists find? It turns out that answers on 89 percent of quarterly assessment suggested the presence of sexual dysfunction, due largely to patients describing sexual inactivity. The most frequently described reasons for sexual inactivity were lack of interest in sex and lack of a partner, but rarely sexual difficulty. Moreover, on 76 percent of assessments in which lack of interest was cited as a reason, women described being moderately to very satisfied with their sex lives. In fact, 64 assessments stated they were satisfied.

While many women receiving chronic dialysis had scores that suggested sexual dysfunction, this was actually due to a high prevalence of sexual inactivity. This isn't associated with sexual dissatisfaction among women. This, in turn, means that most women on dialysis do not appear to have sexual dysfunction or difficulty.

"Sexual inactivity is particularly common yet does not appear to be bothersome to many women on dialysis," said Steven Weisbord, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Carefully considering patients' perspectives and preferences is essential to evaluating the presence and importance of a condition like sexual dysfunction."

The findings are published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.