Male sexual dysfunction among applicants for vasectomy

B. Dilbaz, E. Caliskan, H. Cengiz, S. Gungor, S. Dilbaz, A. Haberal

Ministery of Health Ankara Etlik Maternity and Women's Health Teaching and Research Hospital, Department of Family Planning, Ankara, Turkey, and Kocaeli University Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Kocaeli, Turkey

Objective Florida Sexual Health Questionnaire (FSHQ) Turkish version is used to evaluate the male sexual dysfunction among men who applied to a metropolitan family planning center (FPC) for vasectomy.

Design and methods Forty-nine men who applied to a FPC for vasectomy between September and December 2005 and accepted to fill in the questionnaire were taken as the study grorup.The demographic characteristics including age, educational level, marital status (duration of marriage, age at marriage), occupational status, income level (lower, moderate, high) were assesed. A FSHQ score of = 95 was considered as male sexual dysfunction (MSD) and the prevalance of sexual dysfunction is detected. Also the scores of domains that constitute the FSHQ; sexual desire, sexual development, intercourse dysfunction, erectile and ejaculation and satisfaction problem were evaluated and the relationship between the possible risk factors and MSD is analyzed statistically using SPSS.

Results The median age of the patient group was 39.4±5 and the avarage duration of marriage was 15.5 ±4, tha age at marriage was 22.7±4. Forty-five percent of the men were primary, 34.5% were secondary school graduates. All of the patients had a job. Whilst 46.8% had a lower income, 53.2% declared a moderate income. Median FSHQ score was found to be 82.7±6. All the patients had a score below 95. When the domains were investigated 20.4% had sexual desire problem, 32.7% had intercourse dysfunction, 73.5% had sexual development problem. Whilst all had erectile dysfunction, 95.9% had ejaculation dysfunction and 89.9% had satisfaction problem. There was no statistically significant relationship between the risk factors and MSD. (p>0.005 for all variables)

Conclusion Sexual dysfunction has long been a hidden problem due to various restrictions such as culture, religion or social factors.The findings of the presented study highlight the importance of encouraging male applicants of family planning clinics speaking out their problems about their sexual health that constitutes a major part of reproductive health.