P1268 Sexual health challenges in inflammatory bowel disease: A population-based cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may experience impaired body image, poorer quality of life, and reduced sexual functioning compared to the general population. However, variations in sexual health across the diverse disease spectrum of IBD must be expected. This study examined sexual challenges and dysfunctions in Danish individuals with and without IBD. Methods In this population-based cross-sectional study, 62,675 participants from the nationally representative Project SEXUS cohort study (www.projektsexus.dk) were linked to the Danish National Patient Register to identify participants (n=655) with a first IBD diagnosis recorded between 1996 and 2017 (n=437 with ulcerative colitis (UC); n=218 with Crohn’s disease (CD)). In sex-specific analyses, the prevalence of sex life challenges and dysfunctions in participants with and without IBD and associated, confounder-adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were assessed. Active disease was defined by a fecal calprotectin concentration of >150 μg/g. Results There were few differences in how individuals with and without IBD assessed their overall sex life and current relationship quality. However, when compared with individuals without IBD, both men and women with UC were significantly more likely to report hypoactive sexual desire disorder (men: aOR=2.18; 95% CI: 1.13-4.19; women: aOR=1.66; 95% CI: 1.04-2.66), and women with UC more often reported genital pain dysfunction (aOR=2.30; 95% CI: 1.26-4.19). In IBD subgroup-specific analyses, men with active UC were more often affected by hypoactive sexual desire disorder (aOR=10.44; 95% CI: 2.29-47.57), men with UC and a stoma more often reported erectile dysfunction (aOR=22.21; 95% CI: 3.26-151.47), and men with CD and a stoma more often reported orgasmic dysfunction (aOR=7.92; 95% CI: 1.02-61.78), when compared with men without IBD. Among women, those with active UC more often reported vaginal cramp dysfunction (aOR=12.30; 95% CI: 1.25-120.59), whereas women with CD complicated by perianal involvement more often experienced genital pain dysfunction (aOR=6.39; 95% CI: 1.04-39.17), when compared with women without IBD. Conclusion Individuals with UC and subgroups of patients with IBD with active disease, stoma, or perianal involvement face a significantly elevated risk of various sexual challenges and dysfunctions. Healthcare providers in gastroenterology should therefore remain attentive to these potential issues and offer appropriate counselling or treatment when needed.