Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function

Objective: To systematically review evidence of the impact of inflammatory arthritis on, or association of inflammatory arthritis with, intimate relationships and sexual function. Methods: Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Embase, and EBSCO CINAHL databases were searched. Two independent reviewers s...

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Main Authors: Restoux, L.J., Dasariraju, S.R., Ackerman, I.N., Van Doornum, S., Romero, L., Briggs, Andrew
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: WILEY 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1132548
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93333
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author Restoux, L.J.
Dasariraju, S.R.
Ackerman, I.N.
Van Doornum, S.
Romero, L.
Briggs, Andrew
author_facet Restoux, L.J.
Dasariraju, S.R.
Ackerman, I.N.
Van Doornum, S.
Romero, L.
Briggs, Andrew
author_sort Restoux, L.J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Objective: To systematically review evidence of the impact of inflammatory arthritis on, or association of inflammatory arthritis with, intimate relationships and sexual function. Methods: Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Embase, and EBSCO CINAHL databases were searched. Two independent reviewers selected articles, extracted data, and conducted manual searches of reference lists from included studies and previous reviews. The quality of evidence was assessed using standard risk-of-bias tools. Results: Fifty-five eligible studies were reviewed. Of these, 49 (89%) were quantitative, 5 (9.1%) were qualitative, and 1 (1.8%) used a mixed-method design. Few quantitative studies were rated as low risk of bias (n = 7 [14%]), many were rated as moderate (n = 37 [74%]) or high risk (n = 6 [12%]). Quantitative study sample sizes ranged from 10 to 1,272 participants, with a reported age range 32–63 years. Qualitative study sample sizes ranged from 8 to 57 participants, with a reported age range 20–69 years. In studies reporting the Female Sexual Function Index, all inflammatory arthritis groups demonstrated mean scores ≤26.55 (range of mean ± SD scores: 14.2 ± 7.8 to 25.7 ± 4.7), indicating sexual dysfunction. In studies reporting the International Index of Erectile Function, all inflammatory arthritis groups reported mean scores ≤25 (range of mean ± SD scores: 16.0 ± 5.3 to 23.8 ± 7.0), indicating erectile dysfunction. Key qualitative themes were impaired sexual function and compromised intimate relationships; prominent subthemes included inflammatory arthritis–related pain and fatigue, erectile dysfunction, diminished sexual desire, and sexual function fluctuations according to disease activity. Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction appears highly prevalent among men and women with inflammatory arthritis, and increased clinician awareness of this impairment may guide provision of tailored education and support.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-933332023-10-11T07:02:49Z Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function Restoux, L.J. Dasariraju, S.R. Ackerman, I.N. Van Doornum, S. Romero, L. Briggs, Andrew Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Rheumatology QUALITY-OF-LIFE PRIMARY SJOGRENS-SYNDROME PATIENTS PERCEIVED NEEDS URINARY-TRACT SYMPTOMS HEALTH-SERVICE NEEDS RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS ANKYLOSING-SPONDYLITIS FEMALE-PATIENTS ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS Arthritis Humans Interpersonal Relations Sexual Behavior Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological Sexuality Humans Arthritis Sexual Behavior Sexuality Interpersonal Relations Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological Objective: To systematically review evidence of the impact of inflammatory arthritis on, or association of inflammatory arthritis with, intimate relationships and sexual function. Methods: Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Embase, and EBSCO CINAHL databases were searched. Two independent reviewers selected articles, extracted data, and conducted manual searches of reference lists from included studies and previous reviews. The quality of evidence was assessed using standard risk-of-bias tools. Results: Fifty-five eligible studies were reviewed. Of these, 49 (89%) were quantitative, 5 (9.1%) were qualitative, and 1 (1.8%) used a mixed-method design. Few quantitative studies were rated as low risk of bias (n = 7 [14%]), many were rated as moderate (n = 37 [74%]) or high risk (n = 6 [12%]). Quantitative study sample sizes ranged from 10 to 1,272 participants, with a reported age range 32–63 years. Qualitative study sample sizes ranged from 8 to 57 participants, with a reported age range 20–69 years. In studies reporting the Female Sexual Function Index, all inflammatory arthritis groups demonstrated mean scores ≤26.55 (range of mean ± SD scores: 14.2 ± 7.8 to 25.7 ± 4.7), indicating sexual dysfunction. In studies reporting the International Index of Erectile Function, all inflammatory arthritis groups reported mean scores ≤25 (range of mean ± SD scores: 16.0 ± 5.3 to 23.8 ± 7.0), indicating erectile dysfunction. Key qualitative themes were impaired sexual function and compromised intimate relationships; prominent subthemes included inflammatory arthritis–related pain and fatigue, erectile dysfunction, diminished sexual desire, and sexual function fluctuations according to disease activity. Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction appears highly prevalent among men and women with inflammatory arthritis, and increased clinician awareness of this impairment may guide provision of tailored education and support. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93333 10.1002/acr.23857 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1132548 WILEY fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Rheumatology
QUALITY-OF-LIFE
PRIMARY SJOGRENS-SYNDROME
PATIENTS PERCEIVED NEEDS
URINARY-TRACT SYMPTOMS
HEALTH-SERVICE NEEDS
RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS
ANKYLOSING-SPONDYLITIS
FEMALE-PATIENTS
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS
Arthritis
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological
Sexuality
Humans
Arthritis
Sexual Behavior
Sexuality
Interpersonal Relations
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological
Restoux, L.J.
Dasariraju, S.R.
Ackerman, I.N.
Van Doornum, S.
Romero, L.
Briggs, Andrew
Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function
title Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function
title_full Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function
title_fullStr Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function
title_full_unstemmed Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function
title_short Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function
title_sort systematic review of the impact of inflammatory arthritis on intimate relationships and sexual function
topic Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Rheumatology
QUALITY-OF-LIFE
PRIMARY SJOGRENS-SYNDROME
PATIENTS PERCEIVED NEEDS
URINARY-TRACT SYMPTOMS
HEALTH-SERVICE NEEDS
RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS
ANKYLOSING-SPONDYLITIS
FEMALE-PATIENTS
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS
Arthritis
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological
Sexuality
Humans
Arthritis
Sexual Behavior
Sexuality
Interpersonal Relations
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1132548
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93333