The impact of motor, non-motor, and social aspects on the sexual health of women living with Parkinson's disease.

Abstract

Background: Sexual health is influenced by a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors, all of which can be impacted by Parkinson's disease (PD). Female sexual dysfunction includes reduced sexual desire and/or arousal, pain during sexual activity, or difficulty achieving orgasm. Despite its impact on quality of life, sexual health in women with PD remains poorly understood.

Objective: To investigate the impact of motor, non-motor, and social PD aspects on sexual health of women with PD.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 100 women with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3) who reported an active sex life in the last six months. Data were collected via remote interviews and included demographic and clinical features, cognitive capacity, motor and non-motor experiences, fatigue, self-esteem, sleep disorders, couple relationship quality, depressive symptoms, and sexual health assessments using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Sexual Quotient-Female (SQ-F). Multiple regression models were used to identify predictors of FSFI and SQ-F scores.

Results: Results indicated that while several motor, non-motor, and social factors correlated with sexual health, only couple relationship quality and sleep quality significantly predicted both short-term (FSFI) and long-term (SQ-F) sexual health. No significant associations were observed with age, disease onset, postmenopausal status, or daily medication dosage.

Conclusions: The present study's evidence identifies multiple key areas, such as couple's relationship quality and sleep quality that could be targeted for intervention to improve sexual health in women with PD.