Sexual dysfunction following stroke.

This study was undertaken to examine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among 100 patients (75 men and 25 women) following stroke and its relationship to neuropsychiatric impairments or stroke characteristics. Forty-four men (58.6%) and 11 women (44.0%) reported dissatisfaction with their sexual functioning after stroke, as compared with only 16 men (21.3%) and five women (20.0%) before stroke. Twenty men (26.6%) and six women (24.0%) reported diminished libido after stroke as compared with eight men (10.6%) and seven women (28.0%) before stroke. Patients with sexual dysfunction had significantly more depressive symptoms among both males (P =.007) and females (P =.0005) and more impaired activities of daily living (ADL) in males (P =.0009). Based on logistic regression, the independent predictors of poststroke sexual dysfunction were Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) score (odds ratio [OR] 1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20 to 2.01), left hemisphere lesion (OR, 16.51; 95% CI, 2.34 to 116.25), and poststroke depression (OR, 8.09; 95% CI, 1.28 to 51.38). These data suggest that treatment of depression may have a significant beneficial effect on patients with sexual dysfunction. Our findings also suggest that left hemisphere lesions, for unknown reasons, play an important role in poststroke sexual dysfunction. Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company