Female Sexual Dysfunction

Thursday, 28 April 2005 18:07
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Although male sexual function has long been an integral part of Urology, female responses are only now being studied in depth.

A National Health and Social Life Survey in the USA in 1999 ([1]), showed that female sexual dysfunction is more common than male (31% in men between 18 and 59 years of age, compared with 43% in women).

There are however, few reliable diagnostic tools.

A study of 60 women with sexual dysfunction ([2]) showed that 67% had poor arousal, 92% problems with orgasm and 67% had pain on intercourse.

Masters and Johnson identified 4 main phases of sexual response in women: excitement, plateau, orgasm and resolution. Kaplan, in 1979 proposed a 3 phase model: desire, arousal, orgasm.

In 1998, a consensus panel created a new classification system of sexual dysfunction:


[1] Laumann EO, Paik A, Rosen RC JAMA 1999; 281 (6) :537-544 Sexual dysfunction in the United States: prevalence and predictors.

[2] Berman JR, Goldstein I reported at the American Urological Association 95th. Annual Meeting, April 2000, Atlanta, Georgia. Abstract 1067. Gender differences in sexual arousal responses: implications for qualitative variations in genital engorgement.