Sexual function in women with Cushing’s Syndrome: A controlled study

Özet

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the severity of female sexual dysfunction (FSD), quality oflife, and depression status in female patients with Cushing’s syndrome (CS).Material and methods: This study included 29 sexually active women with CS and 30 healthy age andbody mass index matched women. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, Beck DepressionInventory (BDI) and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were filled by each participant. Plasma levelsof FSH, LH, PRL, cortisol, DHEA-S, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, androstenedione, free testosterone, total testosteroneand estradiol were measured.Results: Female sexual dysfunction was present in 88.9% of the women with CS and 24.1% of the control group. TheCS group showed a lower total FSFI score [16.6 (IQR: 5-23)] compared to the healthy women [26.8 (IQR: 25.5-30.4)(p<0.001)]. The FSFI scores in the arousal, lubrication, orgasm, pain and satisfaction domains were all lower in thewomen with CS (p<0.001). Both summary scores of the SF-36 were reduced in women with Cushing’s syndromecompared to the control group (p=0.001). The BDI scores of patients were significantly higher than those of the controlsubjects (p=0.007). In patients with CS, levels of LH, estradiol, and DHEA-S04 were significantly lower whilecortisol (p<0.05), and 17 hydroxyprogestrone levels were higher than control subjects (p<0.05).Conclusion: This study showed that majority of the women with CS had FSD. This may be related to theinhibitory effect of cortisol on sex hormones.