Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Fertility

Sexuality is an important aspect of life and sexual dysfunction is a common health problem among Iranian women. Prevalence of sexual dysfunction is very high in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome which has been most neglected in clinics. Studies have shown the effectiveness of sexual counseling based on PLISSIT model in improving sexual performance of women in various groups. However, the impact of this model has not been studied on women with PCO yet. This clinical trial study was conducted on 66 patients between the ages of 18-45 years. They were randomly allocated to two intervention (33 people) and control groups (33 people). In the intervention group, women received four sessions of weekly, one hour and face to face sexual counseling. Patients in the control group received routine care. The data gathering tools were a demographic questionnaire and Female sexual function Index (FSFI). The data were collected in three phases including before intervention, one month after the pre-test and follow up three months after the pre-test in both intervention and control groups. The sexual function score in two groups were compared by using Friedman, Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests. Friedman test showed that the sexual function’s score and its domains in the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group (p<0/05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups in the lubrication score. The present study shows that PLISSIT model is effective in treatment of sexual dysfunction of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. This model can be used in clinics in order to conduct sexual assessment and treatment of women with PCO.