P0269Female Sexual Dysfunction in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Utility of a Novel Specific Scale

Abstract Background Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) impacts the female sexual sphere, with a reported prevalence of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) ranging from 40 to 90%. Although general female sexual dysfunction scales are available, such as the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), an IBD-specific scale for women has recently been developed: the IBD-Female Sexual Dysfunction Scale (IBD-FSDS). This scale is currently only validated in English and Danish, which represents a limitation for the widespread use of the instrument in clinical practice in other countries, such as Spain. Methods Our aims were: 1) to translate and cross-culturally adapt the IBD-FSDS scale into Spanish; 2) to describe the prevalence of FSD in IBD and its association with IBD characteristics, quality of life (QoL), fatigue, and anxiety/depression (A/D); 3) to assess the correlation between the FSFI and the IBD-FSDS. This was a single-centre, cross-sectional study that included consecutive female IBD patients aged 18 to 65 years who were sexually active in the previous year. We assessed: 1) FSD using the FSFI and the novel IBD-FSDS; QoL by the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ-9); fatigue using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS); and anxiety/depression (A/D) by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); 2) the correlation between FSD and IBD characteristics; and 3) the correlation of FSD with QoL, fatigue, and A/D. This preliminary analysis forms part of the Spanish validation of the IBD-FSDS. Results A total of 181 women completed the surveys, with a mean age of 45.5 ± 11.6 years. Baseline characteristics of the participants are shown in Table 1. The mean IBD-FSDS score was 13.01 ± 13.63 (range 0-60), and the mean FSFI score was 24.16 ± 8.86 (range 1.2-35.4). The prevalence of FSD, defined as FSFI ≤26, was 43%. The most affected FSFI domains were desire, arousal, and pain. The IBD-FSDS score was significantly higher in patients with active CD (mean 25.33 vs. 11.05; p = 0.005) and among those patients with IBD and a recent flare (mean 19.08 vs. 11.34; p = 0.007). The IBD-FSDS showed a significant negative correlation with the FSFI (ρ=-0.37; p 0.0001), SF-36 (ρ = -0.58; p = 0.0001) and IBDQ-9 (ρ = -0.58; p = 0.0001), and a positive correlation with the FSS (ρ = 0.46; p = 0.0001) and HADS (ρ = 0.50; p = 0.0001). Conclusion FSD affects 43% of women with IBD in our study. The specific IBD-FSDS demonstrates good correlation with the FSFI, showing a positive correlation with clinical IBD activity, fatigue, A/D and poorer QoL. The IBD-FSDS may constitute a novel, useful tool for assessing FSD in Spanish women with IBD. References: - Nardone OM, Calabrese G, Bertin L, et al. Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. Published online August 26, 2024. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae133 - de Silva PS, O’Toole A, Marc LG, et al. Development of a Sexual Dysfunction Scale for Women With Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. 2018;24(11):2350-2359. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izy202 - Sánchez-Sánchez B, Navarro-Brazález B, Arranz-Martín B, et al. The Female Sexual Function Index: Transculturally Adaptation and Psychometric Validation in Spanish Women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;17(3):994. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030994 - Wild D, Grove A, Martin M, et al. Principles of Good Practice for the Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process for Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) Measures: Report of the ISPOR Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaptation. Value in Health. 2005;8(2):94-104. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1524-4733.2005.04054.x Conflict of interest: Dr. Muñoz, Roser: No conflict of interest Madero Velázquez, Lucía: None Herreros Martinez, Belén: No conflict of interest Pérez-Esteve, Clara: No conflict of interest Mira-Solves, José Joaquín: No conflict of interest Belén Galipienso, Olivia: No conflict of interest Moreno Torres, Violeta: No conflict of interest García Trueba, Antonio: No conflict of interest Mira, Cristina: No conflict of interest Gutiérrez Casbas, Ana: No conflict of interest