From the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS.
University of Toledo Medical Center, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH.
Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2020 Nov;26(11):688-691. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000667.
Dyspareunia and sexual dysfunction are estimated to affect up to 22% and 43% of women, respectively. There is concern that these statistics do not depict the true prevalence and that these conditions are frequently undiagnosed and untreated. By 2060, Latinos will make up 30% of the total population in the United States. Because our patient population becomes more diverse, we need to ensure that our healthcare practices accommodate the changes.
We surveyed a convenience sample of 107 English and 71 Spanish-speaking women, aged 18 to 45 years, at university-affiliated clinics to identify the prevalence of dyspareunia and sexual dysfunction within our community. In addition, we wanted to identify the rate that clinicians discuss painful sex with patients to identify whether language impacted communication. The surveys collected data on subjective reporting of pain with sex and objective identification of sexual dysfunction with the Female Sexual Function Index. Additional questions identified if subjects discussed pain with their clinician. These questions were analyzed between languages across all domains.
A greater prevalence of both dyspareunia and sexual dysfunction was measured in our study population compared with previous reports (37.79% and 54.71%, respectively). Spanish-speaking women had significantly lower self-reported dyspareunia (28.99%) but scored significantly lower on the Female Sexual Function Index, qualifying for sexual dysfunction (63.24%). Spanish speakers discussed painful sex significantly less compared with the English cohort, but the overall discussion rate was only 17.26%.
These pilot data demonstrate a need for further research on language as a barrier to communication about sexual function in clinic.
据估计，分别有高达 22%和 43%的女性受到性交困难和性功能障碍的影响。人们担心这些统计数字并没有描绘出真实的流行情况，而且这些疾病经常未被诊断和未得到治疗。到 2060 年，拉丁裔将占美国总人口的 30%。由于我们的患者群体变得更加多样化，我们需要确保我们的医疗保健实践能够适应这些变化。
我们在大学附属诊所对 107 名英语和 71 名西班牙语女性进行了便利抽样调查，年龄在 18 至 45 岁之间，以确定我们社区中性交困难和性功能障碍的流行率。此外，我们还想确定临床医生与患者讨论痛苦的性行为的频率，以确定语言是否会影响沟通。调查收集了与性行为相关的主观疼痛报告和女性性功能指数的客观性功能障碍识别数据。其他问题确定了受试者是否与他们的临床医生讨论了疼痛。这些问题在所有领域都在语言之间进行了分析。
与之前的报告相比（分别为 37.79%和 54.71%），我们的研究人群中两种疾病的发病率都更高。西班牙语女性报告的性交困难明显较低（28.99%），但女性性功能指数得分明显较低，符合性功能障碍的标准（63.24%）。与英语组相比，西班牙语组讨论痛苦的性行为明显较少，但总体讨论率仅为 17.26%。
这些初步数据表明，需要进一步研究语言作为在诊所中讨论性功能障碍的沟通障碍。
