Women’s top 6 sexual problems

CNN Health;

It may sound like a headline from Cosmo, but a survey published in the Journal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons finds that the nearly two-thirds of women report  sexual dysfunction.

The top problem cited among women was lack of desire (47 percent), followed closely by orgasm problems (45 percent). Age, menopausal status and usage of antidepressants were statistically significant risk factors for female sexual dysfunction.

Researchers surveyed 587 women ages 18 to 95 who attend a New Jersey clinic.  Younger women cited problems with orgasms while older women lamented the lack of desire and satisfaction.

These were the most common problems overall:
1) lack of desire (47 percent)
2) orgasm problems (45 percent)
3) arousal issues (40 percent)
4) lack of satisfaction (39 percent)
5) lack of lubrication (37 percent)
6) pain (36 percent)

The top three sexual problems by age group, according to the study were:

Ages 18-30: orgasm (54 percent), desire (36 percent) and satisfaction (28 percent)
Ages 31-45: desire (48 percent), orgasm (43 percent) and satisfaction (40 percent)
Ages 46-54: desire (65 percent), satisfaction (53 percent) and orgasm (48 percent)
Ages 55-70: desire (77 percent), orgasm (66 percent), satisfaction (65 percent)

When a woman doesn’t want sex

Earlier this year, a highly anticipated  so-called “female Viagra,” a drug called flibanserin,  was nixed by a panel of Food and Drug Administration experts  who said the drug didn’t seem to really help women with sexual dysfunction.

This was the second time a so-called “female Viagra” failed to make it on the market; in 2004, an FDA panel said no to Intrinsa, a testosterone patch meant to hormonally help women with a lack of desire for sex. In the absence of a drug to help women with sexual problems, here’s what’s recommended by some practitioners, reported Elizabeth Cohen.

A recent Empowered Patient column by Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen offered women tips for getting their groove back.