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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fifth leading cause of disability worldwide. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of current knowledge on sexual wellbeing in people with COPD, with particular attention to the possible role of physiotherapy in helping address problems with sexuality resulting from the condition....
Citations
... The assessments were gone through questionnaires, and medical information about the sexual life of the patients before the diagnosis of COPD was not available. Research primarily focusing on women's sexual health in COPD is scarce, and most of the report's healthcare providers have stated that sexual dysfunction has been more likely to be discussed with men than women 34 . This current study emphasizes the broad range of sexual dysfunction that female patients with COPD face and the need for clinicians to be proactive in screening extrapulmonary symptoms like fatigue, depression, and impairment in sexual relations. ...
Background
Sexual life of women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be affected by breathing difficulties, a decrease in functional status, depressive mood and fatigue.
Objetive
To evaluate the sexual dysfunction in female COPD patients and the possible explanatory mechanisms or correlations between these conditions.
Methods
The study included 70 female patients with COPD aged between 36-65 and 70 age-matched controls. All the subjects completed questionnaires for the Female Sexual Functional Index (FSFI), BECK depression inventory and, spirometry.
Results
Statistically significant sexual dysfunction was noted in COPD patients compared to the non-COPD group (p<0.001). BECK depression inventory scores of the COPD patients were also significantly lower (p<0.001). no correlation between FSFI and BECK depression scores in 'patients' characteristics (r=-0.055, p=0.651). No significant difference was found in age, forced expiratory volume (FEV)1%, and exacerbation history of the previous year according to severity of depression (p>0.005). In linear regression analysis determining depression, no statistically significant factor was found among age, number of comorbidities, and FEV1/ forced vital capacity (FVC) % predicted (p>0.05). In multivariable analysis, only fatigue during intercourse was found to be a statistically significant factor in predicting sexual dysfunction among factors like age, presence of comorbidities, duration of the disease, smoking status, FEV1%, m MRCpoints, 6-minutes walk test, BECK depression scores (p=0.008).
Conclusion
Sexual dysfunction is reported in many COPD females and seems to be related not to spirometric measures or exercise capacity but to fatigue. Depression is also a common comorbidity, of which both disorders are often neglected.
... To conduct an effective sexual rehabilitation requires not only adequate knowledge but also understanding needs and expectations of patients (Areskoug-Josefsson & Gard, 2015). Although physiotherapists' perceptions of sexuality have been studied in problem-specific studies (Bryant et al., 2022;Lepage et al., 2021;Levack, 2014;Verrastro et al., 2020), more research is needed specifically aimed at studying how physiotherapists approach sexuality in patients with any type of disability. The research question of this study was: What are physiotherapists' perceptions of sexuality in people with disabilities? ...
Introduction
Sexuality is an important aspect of comprehensive care for patients with disabilities. However, for many healthcare professionals in clinical practice, sexuality is not usually an issue discussed with patients. The aim of this study was to explore and describe physiotherapists’ perceptions of sexuality in people with disabilities.
Methods
This study follows a qualitative approach with a descriptive design. Two focus groups were carried out, and twelve interviews were conducted with 24 physiotherapists involved in the care of persons with physical and intellectual disabilities. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with the help of qualitative software.
Results
Two main themes and five subthemes emerged from the data: (1) Silenced and denied sexuality in the lives of people with disabilities, with the subthemes “sexuality in people with intellectual disabilities: a human right not exempt from risks” and “the sexual challenges of living with a physical disability”; (2) the management of the physiotherapist is key for healthy sexuality, with the subthemes “physiotherapist-patient trust: an essential element in dealing with sexuality,” “physiotherapists’ barriers to addressing sexuality,” and “the role of physiotherapy in sexual health of people with disabilities.”
Conclusions and Policy Implications
Physiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions, the sexual education of people with disabilities, and their relationship to their environment. Physiotherapists’ lack of training and their excessive workload make it difficult for them to give advice on sexuality. Providing sex education to disabled people and their caregivers is essential to avoid risks.
... However, ED may be neglected by physicians in patients with moderate and mild COPD, whose health status is not impaired. The risk of developing ED in patients with COPD is higher than in patients with other comorbidities; the prevalence of ED is 72% to 87% in patients with moderate to severe COPD [7,8]. Eighty-seven percent of patients with COPD disregard sexual problems and do not discuss these problems with their physicians, and 78% do not share their sexual problems concerning their/ with their partners [9]. ...
Introduction In this study, we aimed to measure the change in penile stiffness by evaluating corpus cavernosum (CC) with shear wave elastography (SWE) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Material and methods Seventy outpatient patients aged 50–80 years who were diagnosed with COPD were evaluated using SWE. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) questionnaire (IIEF-5 >17: Group A, IIEF-5 <17: Group B). The measurements were made in both transverse and longitudinal sections.
Results The mean age of the patients was 60 ±7.9 years. The duration of COPD was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A (p = 0.003). The mean SWE values of right transverse mid-portion of corpus penis (RTM) and left transverse mid-portion of corpus penis (LTM) in Group B (21.1 ±5.6 kPa and 20.8 ±4.8 kPa, respectively) were significantly higher than in Group A (15.2 ±2.3 kPa and 15.8 ±2.7 kPa, respectively); (p <0.001 and p <0.001, respectively). There was a significant negative correlation between IIEF-5 scores and the duration of COPD (p <0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between IIEF values and RTM and LTM values of the patients (p <0.05 and p <0.05, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between the duration of COPD and both RTM and LTM values (p <0.05 and p <0.05, respectively).
Conclusions In our study, according to the SWE findings, we showed the effect of systemic changes created by COPD on penile tissue and the negative effect of this on erectile function in patients
... Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a global public health issue, with high and ever increasing prevalence, morbidity and mortality [1]. People with COPD may experience limitations in their activities in daily life due to the many symptoms they experience, with the potential to lead to social, emotional, cognitive and sexual problems that may have a negative affect on the functional capacity and quality of life of the individual [2][3][4]. ...
... Advanced age is also known to have a negative effect on sexual function [35]. Concurring Lower testosterone levels in male patients with COPD, fatigue and dyspnea in male and female patients, decreased physical capacity due to dyspnea and hypoxemia, the drug use associated with the disease, as well as psychological and sociological factors all negatively affect sexual ctivity [3]. Dyspnea was reported to be the most challenging symptom during sexual intercourse in this present study, while Dias et al. reported that 85% of the participants of their study of 67 sexually active male patients with COPD experienced dyspnea during sexual intercourse [33]. ...
The present study determines the effects of dyspnea and fatigue on the sex life and marital adjustment of patients with COPD. The study sample of this descriptive research included individuals hospitalized in the Pulmonary Diseases Clinic of a university hospital in Turkey who voluntarily accepted to participate in the study. The data for the research were collected using a question form, the Modified British Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (mMRC), the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale-Female Form, the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale-Male Form, the Marriage Adjustment Test, the COPD and Asthma Fatigue Scale, and the COPD Assessment Test (CAT). The data, in the form of numbers, percentages means and standard deviations, were assessed with Mann–Whitney U-tests, Kruskal–Wallis tests, One Way Analyses of Variance and t tests. Of the participants with COPD, 83.3% reported that the disease affected their sex life; 83.6% reported that they had not consulted a physician about sexual problems due to believed the disease ends sexual desire, as one of the obstacles preventing help being sought in this matter; 95.8% reported using no methods other than medical ones to resolve their sexual problems; 90.3% reported encountering problems during sexual intercourse; and 58.3% stated that the symptom with the greatest effect on their sex life was dyspnea. COPD was reported to affect marital adjustment in 54.2, and 55.8% reported that the disease had led to the development of good relations between the partners, and thus better adjustment. It was found in the present study that dyspnea had a negative effect on the patients’ sex life, but no effect on the marital adjustment of individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; while fatigue negatively affected the patients’ sex life, but positively affected marital adjustment.
... Levack stated that COPD predisposes women to fewer sexual problems than it does to men. He stated that men's sexual activity is more dependent on health than women's sexual activity, that having a sexually satisfying husband and a pleasurable sexual experience is more important for women, and that men are more vulnerable to lose their self-confidence and have difficulty in breathing owing to reduced sexual performance (36). This finding differs from our study. ...
... breast-, colorectal-, and testicular cancer, [35][36][37] changes is sexual life for patients with COPD are thought to be more indirectly linked to disease symptoms through fear of breathlessness on exertion as well as reductions in functional level and exercise capacity. 38 Communication needs and PIL targets should therefore not be directly extrapolated from studies of cancer patients. In a review of 30 studies in chronic illness populations, exploring barriers and facilitators to communicate about sexual topics, 39 O'Connor et al. found, that fear of embarrassment, discomfort and causing offence were strong barriers to address sexual concerns among healthcare professionals in patient encounters. ...
Understanding need for support and information among people with COPD is important for the delivery of patient-centred care. Especially regarding intimacy matters, many people wish to remain sexually active but may be struggling to find out how, as information and communication regarding sexual health is scarce. This is especially true when it comes to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present review seeks to provide an overview of the role, contents and design of patient information leaflets (PILs) and discuss their application in sexual health communication for COPD. Based on the literature, a number of key points in the design of high-quality PILs are suggested, and important areas for the improvement of patients-clinician communication are highlighted. While PILs is a commonly used format to provide information in healthcare, other formats, e.g. video and podcasts, could be explored. Prioritizing the development of material to support communication in the future is necessary to address the needs of both patients and caregivers and to support clinicians in initiating conversations about sexual health and intimacy matters.
... Androgen deficiency can induce depression, anxiety, anger, fatigue, and sleep disorders [6]. Testosterone contributes to muscle mass and the body's response to exercise but is also directly associated with sexual functioning in men [25]. Hypogonadism and lower testosterone levels have been reported in males with COPD [14,20,26]. ...
... [31,36]. In addition, testosterone contributes to muscle mass and the body's Erectile dysfunction, COPD, sex hormones Kawshty et al 83 response to exercise and is also directly associated with sexual functioning in men [25]. So, low level of testosterone affects the ED by deferent mechanisms. ...
Background Sexual dysfunction is a common problem in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Aim To evaluate the sexual activity in patients with COPD.
Patients and methods A total of 100 male patients with COPD (diagnosed and staged according to the American Thoracic Society guidelines) and 96 healthy volunteers (controls) with normal pulmonary function were included. After clinical evaluation, pulmonary function test, arterial blood gas, and hormonal profiles such as follicle-stimulating hormone, leutenizing hormone, and testosterone (total and free) were measured and compared. Participants were asked to answer the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire as a method to diagnose and classify impotency.
Results Varying degrees of erectile dysfunction (ED) was detected in 78 (78%) patients with COPD and 56 (58.3%) of controls. The mean score of ED was found to be significantly (P
COPD has a profound impact on the lives of patients and their partners, but the influence on physical, psychological and social aspects of sexual health has not been reviewed systematically. Searches for studies of the impact of COPD on sexual health were conducted independently by two authors in the databases of PubMed, PsycINFO, Embases, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus and The Cochrane Library. English-language quantitative and qualitative studies assessing one or more aspects of sexual health in patients diagnosed with COPD were narratively reviewed and, when possible, subjected to meta-analytic evaluation. A total of 31 studies, including 4 qualitative, were included. Twelve studies assessing erectile dysfunction with the International Index of Erectile Function were subjected to meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of erectile dysfunction was 74% (95% CI: 68-80%) in a total of 1187 patients with COPD, compared with 56% (37-73%) in 224 age-matched, non-COPD controls. The sexual health outcomes assessed in the remaining studies varied considerably, compromising the comparability of the results. None of the qualitative studies had sexual health as their primary focus. Compared with non-COPD individuals, erectile dysfunction appears to be more prevalent among patients with COPD, but more studies including non-COPD controls are needed to confirm this finding. In addition, the impact of COPD on other physical, psychological and social aspects of sexual health remains unclear due to the lack of comparable assessment methods and study designs.
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for sexual dysfunction in people with COPD.
People with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have distressing physical and psychological symptoms, often have limited understanding of their disease, and infrequently discuss end-of-life issues in routine clinical care. These are strong indicators for expert multidisciplinary palliative care, which incorporates assessment and management of symptoms and concerns, patient and caregiver education, and sensitive communication to elicit preferences for care towards the end of life. The unpredictable course of COPD and the difficulty of predicting survival are barriers to timely referral and receipt of palliative care. Early integration of palliative care with respiratory, primary care, and rehabilitation services, with referral on the basis of the complexity of symptoms and concerns, rather than prognosis, can improve patient and caregiver outcomes. Models of integrated working in COPD could include: services triggered by troublesome symptoms such as refractory breathlessness; short-term palliative care; and, in settings with limited access to palliative care, consultation only in specific circumstances or for the most complex patients.
