Centre for Health Research, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South 2751, Australia.
BMC Cancer. 2014 Mar 28;14:228. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-14-228.
Changes to sexual wellbeing are acknowledged to be a long-term negative consequence of cancer and cancer treatment. These changes can have a negative effect on psychological well-being, quality of life and couple relationships. Whilst previous conclusions are based on univariate analysis, multivariate research can facilitate examination of the complex interaction between sexual function and psycho-social variables such as psychological wellbeing, quality of life, and relationship satisfaction and communication in the context of cancer, the aim of the present study.
Six hundred and fifty seven people with cancer (535 women, 122 men) and 148 partners (87 women, 61 men), across a range of sexual and non-sexual cancers, completed a survey consisting of standardized measures of sexual functioning, depression and anxiety, quality of life, relationship satisfaction, dyadic sexual communication, and self-silencing, as well as ratings of the importance of sex to life and relationships.
Men and women participants, reported reductions in sexual functioning after cancer across cancer type, for both people with cancer and partners. Multiple regression analysis examined psycho-social predictors of sexual functioning. Physical quality of life was a predictor for men and women with cancer, and for male partners. Dyadic sexual communication was a predictor for women with cancer, and for men and women partners. Mental quality of life and depression were also predictors for women with cancer, and the lower self-sacrifice subscale of self-silencing a predictor for men with cancer.
These results suggest that information and supportive interventions developed to alleviate sexual difficulties and facilitate sexual renegotiation should be offered to men and women with both sexual and non-sexual cancers, rather than primarily focused on individuals with sexual and reproductive cancers, as is the case currently. It is also important to include partners in supportive interventions. Interventions aimed at improving sexual functioning should include elements aimed at improving physical quality of life and sexual communication, with a focus on psychological wellbeing also being important for women with cancer.
人们已经认识到，性健康的改变是癌症及其治疗的一个长期负面后果。这些变化会对心理幸福感、生活质量和夫妻关系产生负面影响。尽管之前的结论是基于单变量分析，但多变量研究可以促进在癌症背景下检查性功能与心理社会变量（如心理幸福感、生活质量和关系满意度与沟通）之间的复杂相互作用，这是本研究的目的。
657 名癌症患者（535 名女性，122 名男性）和 148 名伴侣（87 名女性，61 名男性），涵盖了一系列性和非性癌症，完成了一项调查，该调查包括性功能、抑郁和焦虑、生活质量、关系满意度、性沟通和自我沉默的标准化测量，以及对性生活和关系重要性的评价。
男性和女性参与者报告称，在癌症类型范围内，癌症患者及其伴侣的性功能都有所下降。多元回归分析检查了性功能的心理社会预测因素。身体生活质量是癌症患者和男性伴侣的预测因素。性沟通是女性癌症患者和男性和女性伴侣的预测因素。心理生活质量和抑郁也是女性癌症患者的预测因素，而自我沉默的较低自我牺牲子量表是男性癌症患者的预测因素。
这些结果表明，应该向患有性和非性癌症的男性和女性提供缓解性困难和促进性重新协商的信息和支持性干预措施，而不是像目前那样主要针对患有性和生殖癌症的个体。让伴侣参与支持性干预也很重要。旨在改善性功能的干预措施应包括旨在改善身体生活质量和性沟通的元素，关注癌症女性的心理幸福感也很重要。
