Marital status and sexual adjustment after colectomy. Results in 178 patients operated on for ulcerative colitis.

The frequency of marriage and divorce did not differ from that of the general population. Female ileostomists married less often than females with ileorectal anastomosis (IRA) and had reduced fertility. Genital functional disturbance was not reported by the IRA males but occurred in 8 of 52 male ileostomists below 50. The coital activity, however, seemed undisturbed except for one married male. Dyspareunia was experienced by 8 of 15 IRA females aged 16-49 and intercourse triggered precipitancy in 2 of them. In a similar group of ileostomists only 5 of 50 had occasional dyspareunia. The coital practice and frequency in married patients did not seem to differ from a general population. Premarital activity seemed low in ileostomists of either sex. This as well as the low marriage rate in females may be ascribed to the psychological effects of a stoma and an appliance with contents.