SEX AND THE DIABETIC WOMAN - DESIRE VERSUS DYSFUNCTION

Although it is universally appreciated that long-standing diabetes is associated with sexual dysfunction in men, the state of inquiry into s exual dysfunction in diabetic women is rudimentary. A literature searc h of the articles published in the last 5 years on sexual dysfunction in diabetic men yields numbers in the thousands; a similar computer se arch directed toward diabetic women results in 13 articles. The reason s offered for this discrepancy in research related to diabetic women c ompared with diabetic men are only conjectures. Perhaps it is because urologists who are, in the vast majority of cases, men performed the m ajor research in this field. Perhaps it is because women did not compl ain of sexual dysfunction to physicians, and therefore it was not perc eived as a problem; or perhaps it is because sexual dysfunction in wom en masqueraded as other symptoms, such as mood swings, depression, vag initis, cystitis, and loss of libido. Thus, the primary problem was ov erlooked. As changes in philosophy of health care emerge, it has becom e apparent that specific studies need to be performed in women, and it should not be assumed that studies in men apply equally to women. Inq uiry into sexual dysfunction in diabetic women is a prime example of t he need for targeted research. This review will describe the small num ber of articles published to date in this field, and offer an opinion as to the optimal work-up and treatment of the diabetic woman with sex ual dysfunction.