The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in the female health care providers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in Saudi and non-Saudi female health care providers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. One -hundred twenty (60 Saudi and 60 non-Saudi) sexually active female health care professionals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were anonymously surveyed using the English version of the female sexual function index questionnaire. The individual domain scores for pain, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, pain and overall score for the Saudi and non-Saudi women were calculated and compared. The two groups were comparable in demographic characteristics. No statistically significant differences were found between Saudi and non-Saudi women in desire (P = .22) and arousal scores (P = .47). However, non-Saudi women had significantly higher lubrication (P < .001), orgasm (P = .015), satisfaction (P = .004) and pain scores (P = .015). The overall scores in Saudi and non-Saudi women were low (23.40 ± 4.50 compared with 26.18 ± 5.97), but non-Saudi women had a significantly higher overall score (P = .005). Taken together, sexual dysfunction is prevalent among Saudi and non-Saudi female health care providers, with Saudi women demonstrating lower scores in four sexual function domains and the overall score.