Finally, It Is Our Turn!

Although it is universally appreciated that long-standing diabetes is associated with sexual dysfunction in men, the state of inquiry into sexual dysfunction in diabetic women is rudimentary. A literature search (1) on sexual dysfunction in diabetic men reveals 1,983 articles published in the last 5 years. In a similar computer search directed toward diabetic women, 13 articles appear, a paltry (and unlucky) number. But there is promise! A 14th article, “Sexual dysfunction in women with type 1 diabetes: a controlled study,” by Enzlin et al. (2), appears in this issue of Diabetes Care, taking steps to make up for this discrepancy.

Compared with the few studies in the literature, this article is an evidence-based report. The study was designed to 1) examine the prevalence of sexual problems in women with type 1 diabetes, 2) compare this prevalence rate with that of an age-matched control group, 3) study the influence of diabetes-related somatic factors on female sexuality, and 4) study the influence of psychological variables on the sexual function of both groups. The authors studied 120 women with type 1 diabetes compared with an age-matched control group of 180 women without diabetes and asked them to complete questionnaires.

This paper could be criticized for the following: 1) a retrospective chart review (not considered the best method for data ascertainment in the scientific literature) was used in the group of diabetic women to collect HbA_1c levels; 2) the chart review was also used to collect prevalence of diabetic complications (thus, no consistent method was used to document retinopathy, neuropathy, or cardiovascular …