Comparative analysis of the sexual function of Nigerians with type 2 diabetes and apparently healthy controls

Objective: To assess the sexual functioning of Nigerians with T2DM in comparison to healthy controls. Design: Comparative descriptive cross-sectional survey. Setting: Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital. Participants: A Consecutive sample of 210 adult Nigerians with T2DM and 121 without diabetes. Main outcome measures: Sexual functioning was assessed with the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire. Results: Participants with diabetes had a higher prevalence of SD than those without diabetes (76.2% vs 34.7%). This remained unchanged when stratified by gender and sexual response cycles. Increasing age and female gender were significantly associated with SD among participants with diabetes. A one-year increase in age has 1.09 odds of increased SD among participants with diabetes (OR = 1.09, CI = 1.05 - 1.13), while the female participants demonstrated higher SD when compared with males, irrespective of diabetes status, [with diabetes (80.7% vs 65%) and without diabetes (60% vs 20.6%)]. They were also three times as likely to have SD as their male counterparts (OR = 3.39, CI = 1.59-7.24, p = 0.002). Conclusion: People with diabetes reported lower sexual functioning compared with those without diabetes, with a more than double the prevalence. Females had a higher prevalence of SD than males, irrespective of diabetes status, associated with age among participants with diabetes. Funding: None declared.