Sexuality, hormones and the menopausal transition

Objectives: To assess the validity and reliability of a sexuality questionnaire, and to assess the relationship of sexual functioning to age, menopausal status and hormone levels. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort of 201 women aged 48-58 years in the fourth pear of a longitudinal study. Sexual functioning was measured by self-completed questionnaire. E2, FSH, Inhibin, total T and SHBG were sampled on cycle days 4-8 or after 3 months of amenorrhoea. Results: Internal consistency, as measured by Cronbach's alpha, was 0.71. Six factors were found on principal components factor analysis: (1) Feelings for Partner, (2) Sexual Responsivity, (3) Sexual Frequency, (4) Libido, (5) Partner Problems and (6) Vaginal Dryness/Dyspareunia. Sexual Responsivity decreased with age (beta = -0.060, P = 0.05), and Vaginal Dryness/Dyspareunia decreased with log E(2) (beta = -0.181, P < 0.001). Testosterone was not associated with the aspects of female sexual functioning measured in this study. Conclusions: This longitudinal study found that most aspects of female sexual functioning were not affected by age, menopausal functioning or hormone levels. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.