Many patients with RA experience sexual dysfunction

LONDON — According to a speaker at the EULAR Annual Congress, more than one-third of men and women with rheumatoid arthritis who are still sexually active have sexual disorders, with many factors that can influence the prevalence and worsening of sexual disturbances.

“For this reason, we strongly recommend the presence of phycologists or a psychologist team in centers with high volume of patients with [rheumatoid arthritis],” Pedro Santos-Moreno, MD, MSc, of the Biomab, Centre for Rheumatoid Arthritis, in Bogota, Colombia, said during a press conference.

Pedro Santos-Moreno

Santos-Moreno and colleagues performed a descriptive cross-sectional study on 1,298 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), of whom 1,048 were women and 250 were men. Investigators collected data for patients seen in the area of psychology at a specialized RA clinic with semi-structured interviews and non-probability sampling. The chi-squared test was used to determine correlations between disease activity level and precipitating, predisposing and maintenance factors.

Results showed 60% of women and 69% of men reported sexual activity. Of those, 36% of women and 34% of men said they had sexual disturbances. Santos-Moreno and colleagues did not find a statistically significant association between disease activity and sexual disturbances.

Precipitating factors for women and men included manifested infidelity, insecurity in sexual role, biological or physical causes, and inadequate information. According to researchers, predisposing factors included image changes, infidelity, anxiety and loss of attraction. Maintenance factors reported included biological causes, depression and anxiety, change in couple’s relationship and partner’s sexual dysfunction. Investigators did not find a statistically significant association between disease activity and precipitating, predisposing and maintenance factors.

“We found a correlation with statistical significance between patients reporting no sexual activity and higher disease activity using DAS28,” Santos-Moreno said. He added, a higher DAS28 was associated with a lesser level of sexual activity. – by Monica Jaramillo

Reference:

Santos-Moreno P, et al. Abstract #OP0198-HPR. Presented at: EULAR Annual Congress; June 8-11, 2016; London.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.