Publication:

Early menarche and high parity contribute to better sexual-quality of life in perimenopausal women

Background It was well known that physiological, psychological, as well as sociocultural are the factors that contribute to female sexual dysfunction. This study aimed to find out whether sexual function of women at perimenopausal age correlated with their ontogenetic factors, such as the age at menarche and parity.

Methods Women (n=80) from nine villages in district of Lampung Tengah, Lampung Province, Indonesia aged 40-50 years who meet inclusion criteria participated in the study. Predesigned questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographic characteristics, and the female sexual function index (FSFI) was used to score sexual function of the respondents.

Results None of the 80 respondents smoke, consumes alcohol, and has medical records. Based on the FSFI scores, except for one participant, all respondents suffered from sesual dysfunction with the average of total score 18.77. By using median score (18.52) the respondents were dichotomized into two categories, high and low sexual dysfunction. The results of Chi-square analysis and logistic regression showed that respondents with the characteristics of age at menarche 4 children have better sexual-quality in comparison to those with the age at menarche >15 years and the parity <4 children.

Conclusions It can be concluded that early menarche and high parity might contributed to better sexual-quality of life in perimenopausal women.