In a new study, doctors from the Yale School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that female sexual dysfunction affects 48 percent of women and that these women had decreased sensation in the clitoris. Lead author Kathleen Connell, from the Yale School of Medicine, said one of the stumbling blocks in understanding female sexual dysfunction was the lack of research. "There is a paucity of data available on female sexual dysfunction and this study brings attention to the possibility of a neurological cause for the dysfunction," remarked Connell.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine hosted the trial which studied the pudenal nerve and its connections to the pelvic floor muscles. The pudenal nerve is also responsible for sensation in the genital region. They evaluated the role of genital neurological integrity and sexual function using vibratory and pressure sensation tests in the genital region. The team found that almost half of the women studied reported sexual dysfunction. Of the women with female sexual dysfunction, 23 percent had more than one form of sexual dysfunction. Those with sexual dysfunction had decreased sensation in the clitoris compared to women without female sexual dysfunction.
Previous studies have shown that about 10 million women between the ages of 50 and 74 report abnormal sexual complaints, including decreased desire, inability to reach orgasm and increased pain with intercourse. In contrast to data on men, Connell said clinical trials evaluating the physiologic mechanisms responsible for sexual function in women were relatively scarce, despite many researchers' suspicions that sexual dysfunctions may be more common in women than men. "The sexual response is complex and involves interaction between the nervous system, the vascular system and the musculoskeletal system," said Connell. "Alterations in any of these systems could potentially cause female sexual dysfunction."
