Impact of opioid analgesics on female's sexuality with chronic non-cancer pain

Introduction. - The use of long-term opioid analgesics may contribute to the development of female sexual dysfunction (SD). We conducted a study to determine the impact of opioid analgesics on female sexuality. Methods. - This was a case-control study about 36 women aged between 18 and 40 years, who were treated with opioid analgesics for chronic non-cancer pain for at least 6 months. They were compared to 36 women who were not treated with opioid analgesics, matched by age and etiology of chronic pain. Data collection was based on medical records and using the following scales: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Female Sexual Function index (FSFI). Results. - The prevalence of SD in patients receiving opioid analgesics was 72.2% (P = 0.795). The average of the total FSFI score was smaller (18.96 +/- 7.87) compared to the control group (22.24 +/- 5.53), (P = 0.045). Statistical difference significance was found in mean scores for items: desire (P = 0.012), excitation (P = 0.013), and lubrication (P = 0.017), which were lower inpatients treated with opioid analgesics. Menstrual disorder was associated with the use of opioid analgesics (P = 0.022) with an increased risk of 5.66 times compared to the control group. In addition, the longer the duration of treatment, the more we have observed SDs, mainly affecting excitation (r = -0.60, P < 0.001), satisfaction (r = -0.50, P = 0.002), and pain (r = -0.49, P = 0.002). On the other hand, we found that the increase in the daily dose equivalent of morphine was correlated with the onset of SD (r = -0.75, P < 0.001) by affecting the 6 items of the FSFI. Conclusion. - Our study identified the link between opioid analgesics and female SD often attributed to other comorbidities such as chronic pain or anxio-depressive disorders. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.