Aims of Study:
Our objective in this study is to determine the effects of pelvic floor dysfunction on the sexual life of women.

Methods:
On the basis of random sampling method 46 women, who were selected among the women diagnosed with pelvic floor dysfunction at the uro-gynaecology outpatient clinic of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Istanbul University Medical Faculty, made up the study group while 25 women, who were free of pelvic floor dysfunction, were the control group. The women gave their consent to participate. Questionnaires of patient history and related gynaecologic details as well as the sexual history form of Schoner et.al [1] were completed in face-to-face interviews in a private room.

Results:
The median age of the women was 42.4±6.5. Most of the women were either still reproductive or in pre-menopausal stage with 13.8% being primipar and 86.2% multipar. 16 complained of vaginal enlargement that made them feel their vaginas too large for coitus, 23 complained of pain during sexual intercourse, and 8 experienced occasional pain during intercourse. No statistically meaningful difference was found when the answers of the two groups (study and control) to the 26 questions in the sexual history form were compared. Likewise, when parturition, vaginal enlargement, and coital pain were attempted to correlate with the answers in the sexual history form, no statistically significant results were obtained. Women over the age of 40 were found to have more sexual desire and willingness to have more frequent sex as compared to the women under 40. Also, the women over 40 were more willing to accept their partners' desire of sexual activity.

Conclusions:
Despite the findings that 26.1% of the study group of complained of vaginal enlargement and 56.5% suffered vaginal pain during the intercourse, the pelvic floor dysfunction itself does not appear as a statistically significant problem in the sexual function of women considered in this study.

References:
[1] Multiaxial descriptive system for the sexual dysfunctions. Categories and Manual, New York, 1980.