Abstract:
Background:Sexual dysfunction often accompanies severe psychiatric illnesses and can be due
to both the mental disordersthemselves and the use of psychotropic medications.sexual
difficulties are major contributing factors for personal distress,marital discord,poor medication
adherence and overall poor quality of life in patients with mental illness.Despite this burden,
sexual dysfunctions are under-reported by patients, under‐recognized by clinicians and scarcely
investigated in studies in developing countries.
Objective:To assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its associated factors among
patients with mental illness atJimmauniversity medical center,south west Ethiopia.
Methods:An inistitution-basedcross-sectional study was conducted at Jimma UniversityMedical
Center,from January,01 - 30,2023.A total of 406 participans were included in the study using
systematic random sampling technique.Data were collected by semi-structured questionnaire
using face-to-face interview.A Change in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ-14) was
used to assess sexual dysfunction.Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26 software.Logistic
regression analysis was performed to assess the association between dependent and independent
variables.Independent variables with a p-value < 0.05 were declared to have statistically
significant association with sexual dysfunction.
Results:The response rate of this study was 98%.General sexual dysfunction among patients
with mental illness wasfoundin 277(55.9%) of participants.It is more prevalent among males
(60.7%).
Conclusion and recomendation:Sexual dysfunction among psychiatric patients on treatment is
evidently prevalent, occurring in more than half of our study participants.Age above 44,being
widowed,being divorced,having a diagnosis of Major depressive disorder,having history of
relapse,polytherapy,substance use, poor quality of life and poor medication adherence were
associated with sexual dysfunction among patients receiving psychotropic medications in Jimma
university medical center.Understanding the impact of thedisorder on patients’overall quality of
life,treatment compliance and relapse rate is critical to device appropriate ways for effective
clinical care.
