How Does Endometriosis Affect the Sexual Satisfaction of Men?

Most men whose female partner has endometriosis are satisfied or very satisfied with their sexual relationship, but even more men whose partner does not have endometriosis are.

Key Points

Highlights:

• Most men whose partner have endometriosis are satisfied with their sexual relationship. However, the percentage of men who are not satisfied is higher among those whose partner has endometriosis compared to those whose partner does not have endometriosis.

Importance:

• Problems associated with sexuality should be addressed by healthcare professionals in order to improve any existing difficulties or prevent the development or worsening of sexual dysfunction.

What's done here:

• Researchers used the brief index of sexual functioning (BISF) and the global sexual functioning (GSF) questionnaires, as well as additional questions, to assess the sexual satisfaction of 236 men whose female partner had endometriosis and 236 men whose female partner did not have endometriosis.

Key results:

• 75 percent of men whose partner had endometriosis reported changes in their sexuality.
• 73.8 percent of men whose female partner did not have endometriosis were satisfied or very satisfied with their sexual relationship. 
• 58.1 percent of men whose female partner had endometriosis were also satisfied or very satisfied with their sexual relationship. 
• The sexual problems of men whose female partner had endometriosis more strongly interfered with their relationship happiness.
• The frequencies of sexual intercourse and of other sexual activities such as oral sex and petting were significantly higher among couples where the woman did not have endometriosis. 
• The wish for an increased frequency of sexual activity and sexual desire did not differ whether or not the female partner having endometriosis.

Limitations:

• Recruiting men through their woman partner may have caused a selection bias. 
• The adjustment to the specific situation in endometriosis by selecting questions from the BISF and GSF and adding other questions may have influenced the validity of the questionnaires. 

Lay Summary

Although the majority of men whose partner has endometriosis are satisfied or very satisfied with their sexual relationship, the proportion of men who are not sexually satisfied is higher among those whose partner has endometriosis compared to those whose partner does not have endometriosis.

This according to a study by researchers in Switzerland who analyzed almost 500 couples. The results were published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

According to the authors of the study, these findings stress the importance of addressing problems associated with sexuality-related pain and reduced frequency of sexual activities by healthcare professionals. This way any difficulties could be improved and the development or worsening of sexual dysfunction can be prevented, they say.

“This is one of the first studies to investigate male sexuality affected by endometriosis,” the researchers wrote. Adding that the response rate of men who took part in the study was “almost 50 percent higher compared to other studies”.

In order to investigate how men experience sexuality when their partner has endometriosis, the team led by Dr. Brigitte Leeners at University Hospital Zurich performed a multi-center case-control study between 2010 and 2015 in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. They analyzed a total of 472 couples, in half of whom the female partner had endometriosis. 

The researchers asked all male partners to answer questions of the brief index of sexual functioning (BISF) and the global sexual functioning (GSF) questionnaires, as well as some additional questions about their sexual satisfaction.

The results showed that 75 percent of men whose partner had endometriosis reported changes in their sexuality. The majority (73.8 percent) of men whose partner did not have endometriosis were satisfied or very satisfied with their sexual relationship. This ratio was 58.1 percent among men whose partner had endometriosis.

The sexual problems more strongly interfered with relationship happiness in men whose female partner had endometriosis compared to those whose partner did not have endometriosis. 

The researchers also found that the frequency of sexual intercourse, and of other sexual activities such as oral sex and petting was significantly higher among couples where the woman did not have endometriosis compared to couples where the woman did have endometriosis. 

However, the answers of men from both groups regarding their wish for more frequent sexual activity and sexual desire were similar.  

“There is a need to evaluate qualitative factors that influence sexual satisfaction in endometriosis patients,” the authors concluded. They added that despite the fact that most men who took part in the study reported high sexual satisfaction, “there are challenges for some couples that arise in the context of a sexual relationship when one partner has endometriosis”.

Research Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29706579