Aolymat Iman, Abdul Kadir Lina, Al Nsour Mohannad, Taha Hana
Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
Department of Eye and Vision Science, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
JMIR Form Res. 2023 Feb 16;7:e40772. doi: 10.2196/40772.
Sexual function is a complex physiological process controlled by neurovascular and endocrine mechanisms that are affected by stressful events. The sexual response cycle consists of four main phases, which are sexual desire or libido, arousal or excitement, orgasm, and resolution. The COVID-19 outbreak is one of the most stressful events historically, causing several unpleasant consequences, including major physical and mental disorders, and sexual dysfunction and alteration in sexual behavior are possible anticipated consequences of the pandemic. Moreover, there are social taboos related to sexual behavior in Jordan, and the current knowledge on changes in Jordanian female sexual function during COVID-19 pandemic is limited.
This study aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on women's sexual function during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan.
This is a cross-sectional study that employed a web-based survey to follow 200 female individuals from the general population in Jordan. The survey evaluated sexual function both during COVID-19 and 6 months prior to the pandemic. The primary outcomes investigated in this study were the changes in sexual intercourse frequency and sexual function aspects, including desire, arousal, satisfaction, orgasm, lubrication, and pain during sexual activity. Data were analyzed using paired t test, McNemar test, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regression using SPSS 25.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the participants' sexual intercourse frequency increased while their sexual satisfaction was significantly changed. The proportion of participants who had 0-2 times per week of sexual intercourse was decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with that before the pandemic (n=90, 45% vs n=103, 51.5%; P=.02). Conversely, the number of female individuals with 3-7 times per week of sexual intercourse increased after the pandemic compared with the prepandemic state (n=103, 51.5% vs n=91, 45.5%; P=.04). Female sexual satisfaction was significantly reduced after the COVID-19 pandemic compared with that before the pandemic (3.39 vs 3.30; P=.049). The other categories of sexual function, including desire, arousal, satisfaction, orgasm, lubrication, and dyspareunia showed no significant changes during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the previous 6 months. There were no significant differences between the total sexual function mean scores during COVID-19 (15.73) compared with the prepandemic scores (15.85; P=.41). The total score of female sexual function during the pandemic was negatively associated with the participants' age and education level. Correlations between various demographics and sexual function categories during the COVID-19 pandemic were identified.
This is the first study exploring female sexual function during the COVID-19 outbreak in Jordan. The results suggest that COVID-19-associated stress is influencing women's sexual function, necessitating the provision of adequate emotional and physiological well-being support for women during similar crises.
性功能是一个由神经血管和内分泌机制控制的复杂生理过程，这些机制会受到应激事件的影响。性反应周期包括四个主要阶段，即性欲或性冲动、唤起或兴奋、性高潮和消退期。新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）疫情是历史上最具压力的事件之一，会导致多种不良后果，包括严重的身心障碍，性功能障碍和性行为改变可能是这场大流行的预期后果。此外，约旦存在与性行为相关的社会禁忌，目前关于COVID-19大流行期间约旦女性性功能变化的知识有限。
本研究旨在评估COVID-19在约旦COVID-19大流行早期对女性性功能的影响。
这是一项横断面研究，采用基于网络的调查对约旦普通人群中的200名女性个体进行跟踪。该调查评估了COVID-19期间以及大流行前6个月的性功能。本研究调查的主要结局是性交频率和性功能方面的变化，包括欲望、唤起、满意度、性高潮、润滑和性活动时的疼痛。使用配对t检验、McNemar检验、Pearson相关性分析以及使用SPSS 25进行多元线性回归分析数据。
在COVID-19大流行期间，参与者的性交频率增加，而他们的性满意度发生了显著变化。与大流行前相比，COVID-19大流行期间每周性交0 - 2次的参与者比例有所下降（n = 90，45%对n = 103，51.5%；P = 0.02）。相反，与大流行前状态相比，大流行后每周性交3 - 7次的女性个体数量增加（n = 103，51.5%对n = 91，45.5%；P = 0.04）。与大流行前相比，COVID-19大流行后女性性满意度显著降低（3.39对3.30；P = 0.049）。与前6个月相比，COVID-19大流行期间性功能的其他类别，包括欲望、唤起、满意度、性高潮、润滑和性交困难均无显著变化。COVID-19期间性功能总平均得分（15.73）与大流行前得分（15.85；P = 0.41）之间无显著差异。大流行期间女性性功能总分与参与者的年龄和教育水平呈负相关。确定了COVID-19大流行期间各种人口统计学特征与性功能类别之间的相关性。
这是第一项探索约旦COVID-19疫情期间女性性功能的研究。结果表明，与COVID-19相关的压力正在影响女性性功能，因此在类似危机期间有必要为女性提供足够的情感和生理健康支持。
