Effect of Female Genital Cutting on the Sexual Function among Egyptian Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

The existing literature on female genital cutting (FGC) is conflicting regarding its effects on sexual functions. The study aims is to evaluate the effects of FGC on the female sexual function. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out between April 2018 and January 2019. We included married women, aged 18-45 years old and sexually active during the last six months. All women were asked to complete the Arabic Female Sexual Function Index (ArFSFI) independently. The cut-off score to define sexual dysfunction on the total FSFI score is 28.1. Then, the gynecologist conducted a thorough clinical examination and a detailed assessment of the type and extent of FGC. Continuous data was expressed in the form of mean±SD while nominal data was expressed in the form of frequency and percentage. Results: The study included 200 women divided into two groups; group (I) FGC, n=127 women and group (II) no FGC, n=73 women. There was no statistically significant difference in sexual function between both groups [91 women (71.7%) in group I vs. 53 women (72.6%) in group II, p=0.511]. The mean total ArFSFI score in group I was 25.8±3.05 vs. 25.4±3.64 in group II (p=0.598). No statistically significant difference in the sexual function between women with type I and type II FGC (p=0.555). Conclusions: FGC is not associated with reduced scores of ArFSFI either in all domain scores or the total score. Moreover, no difference in the scores of the ArFSFI between women with type I or type II FGC.