Effects of Hypothyroidism and Subclinical Hypothyroidism on Sexual Function: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Using the Female Sexual Function Index.

INTRODUCTION

Hypothyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) are common metabolic diseases with severe psychological and physiological effects, which may be the risk factors of sexual dysfunction.

AIM

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of hypothyroidism and SCH on female sexual function through systematic literature review.

METHODS

Until February 2020, systematic searches were conducted on Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Clinicalkey to obtain eligible studies to report the mean and standard deviation of Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in various fields in women with clinical hypothyroidism, SCH, and healthy controls. In accordance with the results of heterogeneity test, a random effect model or fixed effect model was selected to aggregate the scores of each field. The scores of female patients with hypothyroidism and healthy controls were compared using forest plot. Stata (version 15.1) uses meta-analysis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Evaluation values of various fields of FSFI in clinical hypothyroidism, SCH, and healthy controls.

RESULTS

This study included 7 studies, including 88 women with clinical hypothyroidism, 337 women with SCH, and 2056 healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, patients with hypothyroidism scored lower in all FSFI dimensions (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain), especially in lubrication. And, only arousal and orgasm decreased in patients with SCH. Hypothyroidism (odds ratio = 3.912, P = .002) rather than SCH (odds ratio = 1.036, P = .886) was a risk factor for female sexual dysfunction.

CONCLUSION

Hypothyroidism does impair female sexual function to varying degrees. SCH has little effect on female sexual function. It is essential to measure and evaluate the thyroid function of women with sexual dysfunction regularly, which can help clinicians improve sexual function and sexual quality of life. Wang Y and Wang H. Effects of Hypothyroidism and Subclinical Hypothyroidism on Sexual Function: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Using the Female Sexual Function Index. Sex Med 2020;8:156-167.