Simon James A, Nappi Rossella E, Kingsberg Sheryl A, Maamari Ricardo, Brown Vivien
From the 1Women's Health and Research Consultants, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC; 2Research Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IRCCS S. Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH; 4Clinical Development, Medical and Regulatory Affairs, Novo Nordisk Inc, Princeton, NJ; and 5Family Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Menopause. 2014 Feb;21(2):137-42. doi: 10.1097/GME.0b013e318295236f.
This study aims to determine the emotional and physical impact of vaginal atrophy on North American postmenopausal women and their male partners.
A weighted sample of 1,000 married or cohabiting North American postmenopausal women aged 55 to 65 years with vaginal discomfort and 1,000 male partners of postmenopausal women aged 55 to 65 years who experienced vaginal discomfort participated in the Clarifying Vaginal Atrophy's Impact on Sex and Relationships (CLOSER) online survey to determine the impact of vaginal discomfort and local estrogen therapy on intimacy, relationships, and women's self-esteem.
Vaginal discomfort caused most surveyed North American women to avoid intimacy (58%), experience loss of libido (64%), and experience pain associated with sex (64%). Most surveyed North American men also believed that vaginal discomfort caused their partners to avoid intimacy (78%), experience loss of libido (52%), and find sex painful (59%). Approximately 30% of North American women and men cited vaginal discomfort as the reason they ceased having sex altogether. North American women who used local estrogen therapy to treat their vaginal discomfort reported less painful sex (56%), more satisfying sex (41%), and improved sex life (29%). Most men reported looking forward to having sex (57%) because of their partner's use of local estrogen therapy.
Local estrogen therapy ameliorates the negative impact of vaginal atrophy on the intimate relationships of North American postmenopausal women and their male partners. Additional education and awareness efforts about the symptoms of and available treatments for vaginal atrophy may be of further benefit to North American partners.
本研究旨在确定阴道萎缩对北美绝经后女性及其男性伴侣在情感和身体上的影响。
对1000名年龄在55至65岁、有阴道不适症状的已婚或同居北美绝经后女性，以及1000名年龄在55至65岁、伴侣有阴道不适症状的绝经后女性的男性伴侣进行加权抽样，参与“澄清阴道萎缩对性与关系的影响（CLOSER）”在线调查，以确定阴道不适和局部雌激素治疗对亲密关系、伴侣关系及女性自尊的影响。
阴道不适致使大多数接受调查的北美女性回避亲密行为（58%）、出现性欲减退（64%）以及经历性交疼痛（64%）。大多数接受调查的北美男性也认为，阴道不适导致其伴侣回避亲密行为（78%）、出现性欲减退（52%）以及感到性交疼痛（59%）。约30%的北美女性和男性称阴道不适是他们完全停止性行为的原因。使用局部雌激素治疗阴道不适的北美女性报告性交疼痛减轻（56%）、性生活满意度提高（41%）以及性生活改善（29%）。大多数男性表示，由于伴侣使用局部雌激素治疗，他们期待进行性行为（57%）。
局部雌激素治疗可改善阴道萎缩对北美绝经后女性及其男性伴侣亲密关系的负面影响。针对阴道萎缩症状及可用治疗方法开展更多教育和提高认识的工作，可能会给北美伴侣带来更多益处。
