Sexual Attitudes, Knowledge And Function Of Women With Diabetes

Sexual function is a neglected aspect of health in women with diabetes, though it contributes greatly towards quality of life and feeling of well being. This study was carried out to assess the sexual attitudes, knowledge and function of women with diabetes attending an endocrine –gynaecology clinic in north India. 158/177 (89.26%) respondents were concerned about their sexual health, and felt it was an important determinant of general health. 79/ 177 (44.63%) felt that diabetes lowered their self esteem while 126/177 (71.18%) thought that it reduced their physical attractiveness. 100/177 (56.49%) answered that diabetes affected their sexuality, while 29/177(16.38%) complained that their less illness reduced their ‘desirability’ in their spouses eyes'. Only 7/177 (3.95%) said that sexuality had been discussed with them by an earlier health care provider, a gynaecologist. However 147/177 (83.59%) subjects said they would appreciate sexual counseling as a part of their routine diabetes care. 2/177 (1.21%) were willing to initiate a discussion on sexual health with their diabetes care provider, while 175/177 (98.87%) expected their health worker to explore the topic. All patients (100%) expected complete privacy and confidentiality. 127/177 (71.75%) preferred to receive sexual counseling from a gynaecologist, 18/177 (10.16%) from the nurse educator, 18/177(10.16%) from the clinical psychologist, and 14/177(7.9%) from female multi purpose diabetes workers. 170/177 (96.1%) expected a successful sexual counselor to be married, 177/177 (100%) felt that she should be able to speak the local dialect fluently and 177/177 (100%) felt that she should be female. 100/177 (56.49%) wanted interaction with a counselor of the same age while 77/177 (43.5%) preferred an older counselor.77/177 (43.5%) preferred use of non-direct or non-threatening words to describe sexual anatomy, while the rest welocmed usage of actual vocabulary. Only 16/177 (9%) patients were aware of the term ‘G spot’. 28/177 (15.81%) knew what the clitoris was, and 120/177 (67.79%) understood the terms ‘orgasm’ and ‘arousal’. The chief source of knowledge about sexuality was print media (24/177; 13.55%), television (32/177; 18.1%) friends (39/177; 22.1%) and female relatives (73/177; 41.24%). Only 3/177 (1.69%) mentioned a health care provider/doctor as the chief source of knowledge. 80/177 (45.19%) women complained of desire disorder, 111/177 (62.71%) of arousal disorder, and /177 (84.75%) of orgasmic disorder. 36/177 (20.38%) experienced pain disorder. The incidence of all types of disorder was higher in women aged > 40 years.