The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Isolation on the Sexual Functioning of Women Who Have Been Treated for Vaginismus.

BACKGROUND

Multiple factors that impact the mental and hormonal condition of the person influence female sexual function. To our knowledge, however, hardly any research has investigated the sexual function during the COVID-19 pandemic for women who were treated for vaginismus.

AIM

The purpose of this research is to examine how sexual function, frequency of sexual activity, and dyspareunia altered in women who had been treated for vaginismus before the pandemic.

METHODS

This observational study ultimately included 204 patients with completely treated vaginismus at the Women's Health Clinic . Before and during the pandemic, the following data was collected: age, education level, profession, frequency of sexual activity, Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) scores, Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) scores, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores.

RESULTS

Before the pandemic, the mean ASEX score of women in the research group was 12.56±3.41 , and during the pandemic, ASEX average scores of the women significantly increased to 16.88±5.56 . The GRISS total scores were 28.7±10.1 (range, 14-50) following therapy and 23.9±14.8 (8-58) during the pandemic. After therapy, the HDRS score was 9.58±5.53 (1-19) , while it was 15.21±6.43 (5-26) during the pandemic. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mental health declined significantly, indicating a mild state of depression unrelated to vaginismus. During the pandemic, the mean frequency of sexual activity was 2.9±1.4 per week, and the frequency of sexual encounters did not considerably vary.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Therapists should examine the pandemic's impacts on all sexual function symptom categories and modify their treatment plans appropriately. The findings indicate that lowering COVID-19-related stress may be especially useful in minimizing the negative impact of COVID-19 on symptoms. We noticed that vaginismus-treated women did not relapse during the pandemic.

LIMITATIONS

The study population was comprised of women attending a particular women health clinic. This can place a certain bias on the demography of the patient population.

CONCLUSION

The present research indicated that the frequency of sexual activity among women treated for vaginismus did not alter, and notwithstanding a rise in stress and depression ratings, the majority of sexual function scores, including pain, improved during the pandemic. Nonetheless, dissatisfaction and anorgasmia subscales deteriorated, while ASEX satisfaction did not improve to the same extent, suggesting deleterious consequences on sexual function.