Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) significantly impacts Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and sexual function. The aim of this study was to evaluate sex differences in HRQoL and sexual function in patients with T2DM.

Methods: We performed an ancillary study of RECOGITO trial (REmodelling in Diabetic CardiOmyopathy: Gender Response to PDE5i InhibiTOrs - NCT01803828). All patients completed the 36-item-Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), assessing 8 domains: physical functioning (PF), physical role limitations (RP), emotional role limitations (RE), vitality (VT), mental health (MH), social functioning (SF), bodily pain (BP) and general health (GH). The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), assessing 6 domains (desire, arousal, lubrification, orgasm, satisfaction, pain), and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaires were administrated to females and males, respectively. An independent sample t-test was used to evaluate sex-differences within our cohort. SF-36 and FSFI scores were compared with reference age and sex-matched cohorts.

Results: Within our cohort of 109 patients (55 men and 54 women), SF-36 results showed worse RP, RE, VT and BP in women compared to men (P<0.05), even correcting for age, duration or metabolic control of diabetes. When stratified for age, our women showed worse RE (P=0.05) than women without T2DM. No differences were found in men. In our cohort, 45 women (84%) showed a total score compatible with female sexual dysfunction with lower scores in the domains of sexual arousal, lubrification, satisfaction and pain when compared with post-menopausal women without T2DM (P<0.05). 42 men (76%) showed ED at IIEF-5.

Conclusion: In our cohort of 109 patients with T2DM, women had poorer HRQoL than men and worse RE and sexual function when compared to reference age-matched women. Although this study confirmed the high prevalence of ED in men with T2DM, this is not reflected in a worsening of HRQoL.