PS-2-5 Genital Pain and Sexual Functioning: Effects on Sexual Experience, Psychological Health and Quality of Life in a Community-Based Study

Genital Pain (GP) is a common symptom in reproductive age women. It is probably underestimated in clinical studies and often neglected by both patients and clinicians, although negative effects on women's sexual and reproductive health are widely recognized. The main aim of this study was to explore the presence and perception of GP and its association with sexual functioning, distress, emotions, mental health and Quality of Life (QoL) in the general population. A total of 1034 Italian women (age range between 18-40 years) completed a web survey on sexual health composed by the Female Sexual Function Index, the Female Sexual Distress Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire adapted for GP, the Short Form 36, and the Symptom Check List-90-Revised. A high prevalence of GP (n=319, 33% of the sample) and its characteristics were highlighted: GP women reported to have generally worse sexual functioning compared to women without GP (n=648; p=.036), a higher level of sexual distress (p< .001), more negative emotions related to sexual experiences (p=.001), worse scores in all the QoL domains (p< .001) and higher levels of psychopathological symptoms (p< .001). Moreover, focusing on GP group, women with lower sexual functioning showed higher sexual distress compared to higher functioning women (n=169; p< .001), as well as fewer positive (p< .001) and more negative emotions (p< .001) related to sexuality, worse QoL (p< .001) and significantly higher psychological burden (p< .001).