Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function
Access Status
Authors
Date
2020Type
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Source Title
ISSN
Faculty
School
Funding and Sponsorship
Remarks
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Restoux, L.J., Dasariraju, S.R., Ackerman, I.N., Van Doornum, S., Romero, L. and Briggs, A.M. (2020), Systematic Review of the Impact of Inflammatory Arthritis on Intimate Relationships and Sexual Function. Arthritis Care Res, 72: 41-62, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.23857. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Collection
Abstract
Objective: To systematically review evidence of the impact of inflammatory arthritis on, or association of inflammatory arthritis with, intimate relationships and sexual function. Methods: Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Embase, and EBSCO CINAHL databases were searched. Two independent reviewers selected articles, extracted data, and conducted manual searches of reference lists from included studies and previous reviews. The quality of evidence was assessed using standard risk-of-bias tools. Results: Fifty-five eligible studies were reviewed. Of these, 49 (89%) were quantitative, 5 (9.1%) were qualitative, and 1 (1.8%) used a mixed-method design. Few quantitative studies were rated as low risk of bias (n = 7 [14%]), many were rated as moderate (n = 37 [74%]) or high risk (n = 6 [12%]). Quantitative study sample sizes ranged from 10 to 1,272 participants, with a reported age range 32–63 years. Qualitative study sample sizes ranged from 8 to 57 participants, with a reported age range 20–69 years. In studies reporting the Female Sexual Function Index, all inflammatory arthritis groups demonstrated mean scores ≤26.55 (range of mean ± SD scores: 14.2 ± 7.8 to 25.7 ± 4.7), indicating sexual dysfunction. In studies reporting the International Index of Erectile Function, all inflammatory arthritis groups reported mean scores ≤25 (range of mean ± SD scores: 16.0 ± 5.3 to 23.8 ± 7.0), indicating erectile dysfunction. Key qualitative themes were impaired sexual function and compromised intimate relationships; prominent subthemes included inflammatory arthritis–related pain and fatigue, erectile dysfunction, diminished sexual desire, and sexual function fluctuations according to disease activity. Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction appears highly prevalent among men and women with inflammatory arthritis, and increased clinician awareness of this impairment may guide provision of tailored education and support.