The negative effect of urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome on female sexual function: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction and hypothesisTo explore the effect of urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS) on female sexual function.MethodsDatabase searches were conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar for published literature using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) or reporting the prevalence of dyspareunia. Data extraction and quality evaluation were performed on the literature that met the inclusion criteria, and a meta-analysis was performed using STATA 12.0 and RevMan5.3 software to calculate the mean differences (MD) and odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsA total of nine case-control studies enrolling 4965 subjects were investigated. The present meta-analysis results demonstrated a strong correlation between UCPPS and dyspareunia (OR=11.27, 95% CI: 5.15-24.67, P<0.00001). The UCPPS group had significantly lower scores in each domain of the FSFI compared with the healthy control group: total score (MD=-11.35, 95% CI: -14.54--8.16, P<0.00001); desire (MD=-1.04, 95% CI: -1.20--0.88, P<0.00001); arousal (MD=-1.78, 95% CI: -2.36--1.20, P<0.00001); lubrication (MD=-2.11, 95% CI: -2.49--1.73, P<0.00001); orgasm (MD=-1.50, 95% CI: -1.72--1.28, P<0.00001); satisfaction (MD=-1.54, 95% CI: -1.97--1.12, P<0.00001); pain (MD=-2.89, 95% CI: -3.63--2.14, P<0.00001).ConclusionsUCPPS had a significantly negative effect on female sexual function, particularly in the lubrication, pain, and total score domains. In addition, UCPPS patients had a significantly higher risk of dyspareunia. Psychosocial variables may be a potential pathogenesis of female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Future well-designed research is called for to develop a comprehensive estimate of the association between UCPPS and FSD.