Beyond antipsychotics: the role of medication and nonmedication factors in female sexual dysfunctions in schizophrenia

Abstract

To date, few studies have investigated male sexual dysfunctions (FSDs) in schizophrenia in non-Western countries, with most studies focusing on the sexual side effects of antipsychotic medications. Therefore, we aimed to screen for FSD in a sample of Egyptian females with schizophrenia, compare them to controls and to investigate demographic and clinical parameters associated with FSD. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 72 medicated and unmedicated females with schizophrenia (27 unmedicated and 45 medicated) and 24 controls. They were assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and data were collected for demographic and clinical parameters. We found that females with schizophrenia had significantly lower scores on the FSFI compared to controls and that 93.1% of females with schizophrenia reached the threshold for FSD (FSFI score ≤26), compared to 87.5% of controls. Medicated and unmedicated subjects did not differ significantly in most domains of the FSFI. Age, duration of illness, positive and negative syndrome Scale total, positive and negative symptom scores correlated significantly with the majority of domains of the FSFI. Rates of FSD are very high in both schizophrenia and controls and correlate in schizophrenia with a number of demographic and clinical parameters, suggesting that FSDs are not restricted to the side effects of medications. There is a need to screen for sexual function in routine practice, and for developing active strategies to tackle sexual dysfunctions.