Assessment of sexually related personal distress accompanying premenopausal sexual dysfunction with an Arabic version of the Female Sexual Distress Scale.

OBJECTIVE

To assess sexually related personal distress among premenopausal women with female sexual dysfunction (FSD) via a validated Arabic version of the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS).

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among women attending Suez Canal University Hospital, Egypt, between May 2015 and July 2016. In a pilot study to evaluate test-retest reliability and internal consistency, 42 sexually active premenopausal women (aged ≥20 years) completed the Arabic FSDS at recruitment and 2 weeks later. Subsequently, premenopausal sexually active women (aged 20-45 years) were asked to complete the female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire; those with FSD (FSFI score ≤26.55) were invited to return to complete the validated version of the Arabic FSDS.

RESULTS

The Arabic FSDS showed good test-retest reliability (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.93-0.98) and internal consistency (Cronbach α 0.83-0.92). Overall, 140 (58.1%) of 241 women who completed the FSFI had sexual dysfunction, of whom 51 (36.4%) had sexually related personal distress. Marriage duration was significantly increased among women with FSD (P<0.001). All FSFI sexual domains except lubrication were negatively correlated with FSDS.

CONCLUSION

FSD and sexually related personal distress were highly interrelated and prevalent. An Arabic version of the FSDS was found to be valid and reliable for evaluation of sexually related personal distress.