Evaluation of sexual function in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis

Mauro Cozzolino, Cozzolino M, Elena Rita Magro-Malosso, Elena Rita Magro‐Malosso, Magro-Malosso ER, Lorenzo Tofani, Maria Elisabetta Coccia
Sexual & reproductive healthcare : official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives · 2018 · vol. 16 , pp. 6–9 · doi:10.1016/j.srhc.2017.12.005 · PMID:29804777 · W2781747489
Observational OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 23 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This paper evaluated the sexual function of women diagnosed with deep infiltrating endometriosis.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The influence of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) on sexual function has been poorly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of DIE on sexual function by administering questionnaires to women. METHODS: Women with a clinical and ultrasound diagnosis of DIE and histological confirmation of endometriosis were included in the study. In interview, women were asked to rate five pain symptoms, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, dysuria and Cronic Pelvic Pain (CPP), on a visual analogue scale (VAS), and sexual function was assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). RESULTS: A total of 170 women with DIE were identified. A VAS score of 7 or more was taken to indicate that a symptom was 'severe'. Dysmenorrhea was reported to be severe by 66.5% of the sample, dyspareunia by 41.8%, dyschezia by 32.4% and dysuria by 6.5%. Mean FSFI scores did not differ significantly between women with and without endometriosis lesions at particular sites, except for rectovaginal nodules, which were found to be associated with more impaired sexual activity and sexual function. CONCLUSIONS: Women with DIE had significant impairment of sexual activity when a partial or total infiltration of the rectovaginal septum occurred. Particular attention should be given to women with this kind of lesion.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

dysmenorrheadyspareuniaendometriosischronic_pelvic_paindie_deep_infiltrating

MeSH descriptors

Dysmenorrhea Dyspareunia Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Sexual Behavior Sexual Behavior Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological Adult Adult Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Female Humans Humans

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (31)

Cited by (23)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-10-15T06:08:49.021275+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-10-08T21:22:15.942320+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-10-15T06:24:24.424788+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK