Rossi V., Tripodi F., NIMBI F.M., Simonelli C. (2018). Genital sexual pain in reproductive-age women: an explorative study. 14th Congress of the European Federation of Sexology

Objective: Genital Sexual Pain (GSP) is a common symptom in reproductive-age women. Although this complaint could negatively affect the quality of sex life, there is still a lack of awareness about it in the female population. The objective of the present study was to explore the presence of GSP in reproductive-age women, the characteristics of pain (duration, location, etiology), the way women deal with the symptom, and their sexual functioning. Design and Method: 653 women (mean age 25.7±4.37) were recruited with snowball method. Participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), the Female Sexual Functioning Index (FSFI), the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS). Results: 190 women (29.6%) experienced GSP in the last 6 months (mean duration of the symptom 16.87±33.75) located in: vaginal introitus and vestibule (52.1%), lower abdomen/pelvis (44.7%), labia minora/majora (25.3%), clitoris (8.4%), and perineum/anus (5.3%). Most women (75.3%) did not know the cause of the pain, and a quarter of them (24.7%) reported a specific diagnosis. 58 out of 190 (30.5%) considered GSP as a “sexual problem”. 69 (36.31%) and 50 (26.31%) reached clinical scores on FSFI and FSDS, respectively; only13 (7%) referred to a psycho-sexologist. Conclusions: GSP was present in almost 30% of women, nevertheless just few of them asked help to a specialist. There is still a lack of awareness about pain; cultural aspects may lead women to go on with the symptom increasing the risk of its chronicization and sexuality impairment.