Clinical presentation, sexual function and quality of life as predictors of sexual satisfaction among women with urinary incontinence before a vaginal revitalization procedure

123 Background: Sexual dysfunction is a common treatment sequela across numerous cancer diagnoses and treatments, causing increased distress, discomfort and negatively impacting quality of life. Methods: Before their survivorship-focused clinic appointment, adult cancer survivors were asked to complete a comprehensive patient -eported outcomes survey that included detailed questions on their health status including sexual function. Results: Between April 2015 to July 2016, 94 patients completed the survey. They were 66% female, mean age 45 years (SD 16, range 21-82) and 34% leukemia/lymphoma, 18% breast cancer, and 12% genitourinary cancer survivors. Patients were a mean of 6.7 years (SD 7.9, range 0-42) from their cancer diagnosis at the time of clinic appointment. Nearly half (48%) were married or living with a partner and 49% were living alone (single, divorced, widowed). 70.2% reported being sexually active (alone or with a partner) in the last year: of these only half (55.3%) reported being sexually active in the last month. For those who were not sexually active the most commonly cited reasons included lack of interest (24.5%) and not having a partner (30.9%), with 12.8% reporting not being sexually active due to a physical problem. Survivors rated their sexual satisfaction in the past month as a 5.0 (SD 3.7; scale of 0-10, 0=not at all satisfying 10=extremely satisfying). An independent samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in sexual satisfaction between survivors under 45 years in age and ≥45 years in age (t=4.4, df=68.0, p < 0.05). Older survivors (mean=3.71, SD=3.7) reported significantly lower levels of sexual satisfaction than did younger survivors (mean=7.11, SD=2.8). The most commonly reported sexual function issues for women included vaginal dryness (23.4%) and for men included difficulty getting an erection (7.4%). Conclusions: Sexual dysfunction is a common long-term effect of cancer across diagnoses and most treatments, warranting widespread implementation of targeted interventions to manage sexual dysfunction and improve quality of life for these survivors.

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Quality of life and sexual function after TVT surgery versus Bulkamid injection for primary stress urinary incontinence: 1 year results from a randomized clinical trial

International Urogynecology Journal ◽

10.1007/s00192-020-04618-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anna-Maija Itkonen Freitas ◽

Tomi S. Mikkola ◽

Päivi Rahkola-Soisalo ◽

Sari Tulokas ◽

Maarit Mentula

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Urinary Incontinence ◽

Stress Urinary Incontinence ◽

Sexual Function ◽

Short Form ◽

Pelvic Organ ◽

Health Related Qol ◽

Long Term Follow Up ◽

Health Related

Abstract Introduction and hypothesis To assess changes in quality of life (QoL) and sexual function outcomes at 1 year after tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) versus polyacrylamide hydrogel injection (PAHG). Methods In a randomized trial comparing TVT (n = 111) and PAHG (n = 113) treatments of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), we compared urinary incontinence and health-related QoL using the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire, Short Form (IIQ-7), Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12) and RAND-36 Item Health Survey (RAND-36) at baseline and 1 year. Results UDI-6 and IIQ-7 showed improved incontinence-related QoL (p = 0.001) from baseline in both groups except for difficulty emptying the bladder and pain/discomfort. At 1 year, TVT patients experienced less urinary symptom-related distress compared to PAHG (p < 0.001). Sexual function improved in both groups (p < 0.001 for TVT and p = 0.01 for PAHG) with higher scores for the physical section subscale (p < 0.001) for TVT. Health-related QoL (RAND-36) improved from baseline in both groups in physical and social functioning (p < 0.001) with better outcome in the TVT group for physical functioning (p < 0.001). Increase in pain from baseline (p = 0.02) was detected for TVT, but not for PAHG. However, there was no difference between the groups (p = 0.78). Conclusions In primary SUI, TVT and PAHG treatments both improved QoL and sexual function at 1 year. However, incontinence and health-related QoL scores were better in the TVT group. More pain compared to the baseline was reported after TVT, although there was no difference between groups. Clinical significance needs to be evaluated in long-term follow-up.

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