FEMALE SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION OCCURRENCE AMONG STERILIZED WOMEN IN BRAZIL

Rodrigues Jr., OM⁽¹⁾; Pacagnella, RdC⁽²⁾; Vieria, EM⁽²⁾

⁽¹⁾Instituto Paulista de Sexualidade - São Paulo - Brasil ⁽²⁾University of São Paulo - School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto

Introduction: Although contraception is prevalent in Brazil (77%), only two methods prevail: hormonal and the female sterilization (FS). However FS is not innocuous and can bring several adverse consequences as the deterioration of the sexual function, what would be contradictory as FS aims a better sexual life, less frightened by the fear of the pregnancy. The present study objective was evaluate the sexual function of women submitted to FS. Methods: Survey of 235 cases (of total 1826), with data obtained with the Sexual Female Function Index (FSFI), adapted for the Brazilian context, among women sterilized by the public health system in Ribeirão Preto (SP - Brazil) between 2000 and 2004. Results: The women were 35,9 years old on average and they were sterilized on average at 33,3 years; 89,8% were in marital union, 57,9% pronounced white and 66,8%, catholic. In general, 32,5% of the women presented index scores with risk for sexual dysfunction measured by FSFI. In the evaluation of the domains separately, women with low scores in the domains orgasm, satisfaction and arousal had above 90% of chance of presenting general score with risk for sexual dysfunction. Conclusion: considering the cut-off point proposed to define sexual dysfunction for the Female Sexual Function Index, the women's proportion with risk for sexual dysfunction on the present study was in agreement with the prevalence of female sexual dysfunction in general population. The female sterilization seems not to influence the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in the women in this study. The domains more related to risk of sexual dysfunction were orgasm, satisfaction and arousal.