Abstract
Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects mainly young people of reproductive age with significant
lifelong repercussions, among which sexual dysfunction (SD) is one of the most neglected
during routine clinical care.
Objective To evaluate SD in female patients diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).
Methods This cross-sectional analytic study was performed at the Santa Casa de São Paulo
Hospital, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, São Paulo, Brazil, between November 2020
and March 2022. The sample included 80 female patients diagnosed with RRMS and 106
healthy controls. Questionnaires probing sexual dysfunction (the Multiple Sclerosis
Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire – MSISQ-19 and the Female Sexual Function Index
– FSFI) and depression and anxiety (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – HADS,
the Beck Depression Inventory – BDI; and the Beck Anxiety Inventory – BAI) were applied.
Results A high prevalence of SD in both groups (43.4% and 38.8% for the RRMS and control
groups, respectively) was identified by the FSFI analysis. A statistically higher
prevalence (56.3%) of sexual dysfunction was detected in RRMS patients when using
the MSISQ-19 tool to assess sexuality in this population compared with the FSFI scale
(p = 0.016).
Conclusion A high prevalence of SD was found in both MS patients and healthy controls as measured
by the FSFI. However, the specific tool (MSISQ-19) revealed a higher prevalence of
SD in MS patients. Thus, the use of MSISQ-19 for the diagnosis and management of SD
in this patient group is recommended.
Keywords
Multiple Sclerosis - Sexual Health - Sexual Dysfunction
Bibliographical Record
Elisa Matias Vieira de Melo, Flavia Fairbanks Lima de Oliveira Ruano, Maria Fernanda
Mendes, Guilherme Sciascia do Olival. Assessing female sexual dysfunction in patients
with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2025; 83: s00451806819.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1806819
