Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More?
Introduction: Psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic include pandemic triggered feelings of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety added to the effects of restricting the population's activities in lockdown. Aim: We aimed to study the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on sexual satisfaction of f...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Sexual Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2050116120301823 |
| _version_ | 1797722721082146816 |
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| author | Salma Samir Omar, MD Waleed Dawood, MD Noha Eid, MD Dalia Eldeeb, MD Amr Munir, MD Waleed Arafat, MD |
| author_facet | Salma Samir Omar, MD Waleed Dawood, MD Noha Eid, MD Dalia Eldeeb, MD Amr Munir, MD Waleed Arafat, MD |
| author_sort | Salma Samir Omar, MD |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic include pandemic triggered feelings of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety added to the effects of restricting the population's activities in lockdown. Aim: We aimed to study the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on sexual satisfaction of females and males in Egypt and to evaluate possible predictive factors. Methods: Married men and females in Egypt were invited to respond to an online questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed medical history, socioeconomic status, sexual performance satisfaction before and during the lockdown in addition to validated Arabic questionnaires for depression, sexual function in males and females, and sexual satisfaction (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Female Sexual Function Index, International Index of Erectile Function-5, Index of Sexual Satisfaction, respectively). Main outcome measure: The main outcome measures were frequency of depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and sexual satisfaction in males and females during COVID-19 lockdown. Results: A total of 479 females and 217 males completed the questionnaire. Sexual satisfaction was significantly higher before (91.2%, 73.5%) than during lockdown (70.5%, 56.2%) in both males and females, respectively. During lockdown, significantly more males (70.5%) reported being satisfied with their sexual performance than females (56.2%) (P < .001). More than half of the male subjects (68.2%) had no erectile dysfunction while 97.3% females scored ≤26.5 on the Female Sexual Function Index scale suggestive of sexual difficulties. Sexual stress was significantly greater in females (70.8%) than males (63.1%). Educational level, occupation, anxiety, and erectile dysfunction were independently associated with sexual stress in males. Being a housewife or unemployed, husband's age >35 years, marriage duration of 5-10 years, anxiety, and female sexual dysfunction were predictors of sexual relation stress in females. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower sexual satisfaction in both genders. Females however suffered more anxiety and depression and thereby greater risk of sexual function difficulties and sexual dissatisfaction. Intervention strategies in order to lessen the suffering of affected individuals particularly after the pandemic are recommended.Omar SS, Dawood W, Eid N, et al. Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More. Sex Med 2021;9:100295. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:52:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c0b87ae5239743da94a14c72837c705e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-1161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:52:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexual Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-c0b87ae5239743da94a14c72837c705e2023-09-02T12:28:49ZengOxford University PressSexual Medicine2050-11612021-02-0191100295Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More?Salma Samir Omar, MD0Waleed Dawood, MD1Noha Eid, MD2Dalia Eldeeb, MD3Amr Munir, MD4Waleed Arafat, MD5Department of Dermatology, Venereology & Andrology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; Corresponding Author: Salma Samir Omar, MD, Faculty of Medicine, Elkhartoum square, Alexandria, Egypt. Tel: +201227982197Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, EgyptDepartment of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, EgyptDepartment of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, EgyptDepartment of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, EgyptDepartment of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, EgyptIntroduction: Psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic include pandemic triggered feelings of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety added to the effects of restricting the population's activities in lockdown. Aim: We aimed to study the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on sexual satisfaction of females and males in Egypt and to evaluate possible predictive factors. Methods: Married men and females in Egypt were invited to respond to an online questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed medical history, socioeconomic status, sexual performance satisfaction before and during the lockdown in addition to validated Arabic questionnaires for depression, sexual function in males and females, and sexual satisfaction (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Female Sexual Function Index, International Index of Erectile Function-5, Index of Sexual Satisfaction, respectively). Main outcome measure: The main outcome measures were frequency of depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and sexual satisfaction in males and females during COVID-19 lockdown. Results: A total of 479 females and 217 males completed the questionnaire. Sexual satisfaction was significantly higher before (91.2%, 73.5%) than during lockdown (70.5%, 56.2%) in both males and females, respectively. During lockdown, significantly more males (70.5%) reported being satisfied with their sexual performance than females (56.2%) (P < .001). More than half of the male subjects (68.2%) had no erectile dysfunction while 97.3% females scored ≤26.5 on the Female Sexual Function Index scale suggestive of sexual difficulties. Sexual stress was significantly greater in females (70.8%) than males (63.1%). Educational level, occupation, anxiety, and erectile dysfunction were independently associated with sexual stress in males. Being a housewife or unemployed, husband's age >35 years, marriage duration of 5-10 years, anxiety, and female sexual dysfunction were predictors of sexual relation stress in females. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic was associated with lower sexual satisfaction in both genders. Females however suffered more anxiety and depression and thereby greater risk of sexual function difficulties and sexual dissatisfaction. Intervention strategies in order to lessen the suffering of affected individuals particularly after the pandemic are recommended.Omar SS, Dawood W, Eid N, et al. Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More. Sex Med 2021;9:100295.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2050116120301823PandemicCOVID-19Sexual FunctionSexual SatisfactionAnxietyDepression |
| spellingShingle | Salma Samir Omar, MD Waleed Dawood, MD Noha Eid, MD Dalia Eldeeb, MD Amr Munir, MD Waleed Arafat, MD Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More? Sexual Medicine Pandemic COVID-19 Sexual Function Sexual Satisfaction Anxiety Depression |
| title | Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More? |
| title_full | Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More? |
| title_fullStr | Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More? |
| title_short | Psychological and Sexual Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt: Are Women Suffering More? |
| title_sort | psychological and sexual health during the covid 19 pandemic in egypt are women suffering more |
| topic | Pandemic COVID-19 Sexual Function Sexual Satisfaction Anxiety Depression |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2050116120301823 |
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