Clinical Features of Women with Genito-Pelvic Pain, Penetration Disorder and Disordered Eating Attitudes: A Cross Sectional Study.

Introduction: Current studies indicate a strong relationship between sexual dysfunctions and eating disorders. The aims of this study were to investigate the frequency of disordered eating behaviors (DE) in patients with genito-pelvic pain and penetration disorder (GPPPD); and to determine the clinical features associated with DE.

Methods: Outpatients with GPPPD (n=105) were evaluated with sociodemographic data form, structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID), Golombok-Rust inventory of sexual satisfaction female form (GRISS), Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A), Hamilton depression rating scale (HAM-D), eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDEQ), and eating attitudes test (EAT-40).

Results: The frequency of DE in patients included in the study was 85.7%. The presence of sexual trauma history, eating concern, binge eating scores were significantly higher in patients with DE than without that (p<0.05). A statistically significant positive correlation was observed among the restriction, sensuality and orgasm scores in GPPPD patients with sexual trauma (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Our results might be important in terms of showing that DE is frequently seen in patients with GPPPD and that the presence of a history of sexual trauma might be important in accompanying these two disorders.