Josefsson Kristina Areskoug, Gard Gunvor
Department of Health Sciences, Health Sciences Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Musculoskeletal Care. 2012 Jun;10(2):76-89. doi: 10.1002/msc.1002. Epub 2012 Jan 6.
Pain, fatigue and decreased joint mobility caused by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often decrease sexual health in RA patients. Regular physiotherapy interventions in patients with RA are often aimed at improving those factors. The aim of the present study was to explore the experiences and views of patients concerning the impact of RA on their sexual health, the possible impact of physiotherapy interventions, and communication in clinical situations. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to patients with RA at two rehabilitation clinics in Sweden. The questionnaire included questions concerning the impact of RA on intimate relationships and sexual function, as well as experiences of physiotherapy and sexual health communication with health professionals. The questionnaire was answered by 63 patients. The majority of the patients thought that pain, stiffness, fatigue and physical capacity were related to sexual health. Communication between health professionals and patients about sexual health was less common, even if the desire for communication about sexual health was higher in this study than in other studies. The authors concluded that physiotherapists need to be aware that pain, fatigue, decreased joint mobility and physical capacity can affect sexual health and that physiotherapy can make a difference in sexual health in patients with RA. The impact of RA on sexual health is rarely discussed by health professionals and RA patients, and needs greater attention.
类风湿关节炎（RA）所引起的疼痛、疲劳以及关节活动度下降，常常会降低RA患者的性健康水平。对RA患者进行定期的物理治疗干预，通常旨在改善这些因素。本研究的目的是探究患者对于RA对其性健康的影响、物理治疗干预可能产生的影响以及临床情境中沟通情况的体验和看法。一份自填式问卷被发送给瑞典两家康复诊所的RA患者。问卷包含了关于RA对亲密关系和性功能的影响的问题，以及物理治疗和与医疗专业人员进行性健康沟通的体验。63名患者回答了问卷。大多数患者认为疼痛、僵硬、疲劳和身体能力与性健康有关。医疗专业人员与患者之间关于性健康的沟通较少见，即便在本研究中患者对性健康沟通的需求比其他研究中的更高。作者总结道，物理治疗师需要意识到疼痛、疲劳、关节活动度下降和身体能力会影响性健康，并且物理治疗能够对RA患者的性健康产生影响。医疗专业人员和RA患者很少讨论RA对性健康的影响，这一问题需要得到更多关注。
