Melbourne: A new research suggests that most women remain unhappy and stressed about their sex lives with at least one in five of them suffering from female sexual dysfunction. The study was conducted by the researchers of Monash University and was published in the journal Fertility & Sterility.
According to the study, half of young Australian women experience sexually-related personal distress, with one in five women having at least one female sexual dysfunction (FSD).
The study conducted by the Women’s Health Research Program at Monash University has reported, for the first time, an overall picture of the sexual wellbeing of Australian women between the ages of 18 and 39. Results showed 50.2 per cent of young Australian women experienced some form of sexually-related personal distress. This relates to the degree of feeling guilty, embarrassed, stressed or unhappy about their sex lives.
A concerning 29.6 per cent of women experienced sexually-related personal distress without dysfunction, and 20.6 per cent had at least one FSD. The most common FSD was low sexual self-image, which caused distress for 11 per cent of study participants. Arousal, desire, orgasm and responsiveness dysfunction affected 9 per cent, 8 per cent, 7.9 per cent and 3.4 per cent of the study cohort respectively.
Sexual self-image dysfunction was associated with being overweight, obese, living together with partner, not married, married and breastfeeding. Taking psychotropic medication (such as antidepressants), reported by 20 per cent of surveyed women, had the most pervasive impact on sexual function. The use of the combined oral contraceptive pill was not associated with any sexual dysfunction.
“Sexual wellbeing is recognised as a fundamental human right. It is of great concern that one in five young women have an apparent sexual dysfunction and half of all women within this age group experience sexually-related personal distress,” said the lead researcher Susan Davis.
“This is a wake-up call to the community and signals the importance of health professionals being open and adequately prepared to discuss young women’s sexual health concerns.”
