Many people view sexual dysfunction as a disorder that primarily affects older men and the problem is often associated with the widely advertised prescription drugs that are used to treat the disorder.
Sexual dysfunction is an important public health concern for women in America. According to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, up to 63% of women suffer from sexual dysfunction and 30-50% of American couples are affected by the disorder.
Female sexual dysfunction is described as a lack of sexual desire, decreased arousal, inability to have an orgasm, and pain during sexual activity. Sexual dysfunction most often affects younger women but can affect women of all ages.
There are many physical causes for female sexual dysfunction and those include diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, liver failure, urinary tract infections, and hormonal imbalances. Substance abuse, heavy smoking, and drug side effects can also greatly contribute to sexual problems.
There are also a variety of psychological causes that are associated with sexual dysfunction like stress, anxiety, relationship problems, depression or sexual trauma.
Retrograde menstruation is widely accepted as playing a role in the etiology of endometriosis. Research has demonstrated the phenomenon of menstrual fluid backward flux, the viability of endometrial tissue in menstrual discharge, and the presence of endometrial tissue in peritoneal fluid found in the pelvic cavity. There is ample epidemiological evidence as well. Endometriosis is primarily seen among women of reproductive age. In addition, there is a higher incidence of endometriosis among women with prolonged menstruation, shorter cycles, or obstructed genital outflow tracts. The identification of factors that obstruct menstrual outflow or facilitate menstrual reflux would be worthwhile, since these factors may increase the amount of endometrial ‘seeding’ which occurs during menses. Olive and Henderson found that cervical obstruction increases the likelihood of endometriosis by increasing the menstrual debris available to the pelvic cavity. There are few studies which address the possible relationship between sexual behavior during menstruation and endometriosis. Filer and Wu sought to determine if coital habits during menses are associated with increased risk for endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease. While no association with pelvic inflammatory disease was revealed, they found that infertility patients who frequently or occasionally engaged in coitus during menstruation were almost twice as likely to have endometriosis than those who did not report coital behavior during menses. Filer and Wu proposed that this difference may be due to increased intrauterine pressure during orgasm, which assists in the transport of endometrial debris to an ectopic site. Darrow et al performed a study focusing on the belief that women with endometriosis typically delay childbirth. It was thought that orgasm and sexual penetration during menstruation may be contributing factors. In contrast to Filer and Wu, Darrow et al found no association between these factors and endometriosis.
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