Prevalence and Nature of Sexual Dysfunctions in OCD in a Tertiary Medical College

Abstract

Normal sexual behavior brings pleasure to oneself and one's partner involves stimulation of the primary sex organs including coitus; it is devoid of inappropriate feelings of guilt or anxiety and is not compulsive. Sexual functioning is influenced by a number of factors, mental illness being one of them. Sexual dysfunction in patients with OCD has mostly been studied independently or in gender-specific studies. These studies have reported significant dysfunction in different areas of sexual functioning. The aim of this study is an attempt to assess & compare the presence, prevalence & types of sexual dysfunctions (SD) in OCD mostly coming from rural background in a Tertiary Government Hospital in West Bengal. Our study revealed Sexual dysfunction was in 53.33% of the subjects. Orgasmic dysfunction was the most frequent dysfunction 20.51% in females (N=8), followed by problems in desire15.38%. However since the data were collected from a specific population, the degree to which they represent the general population cannot be commented upon.