Sexual dysfunction in chronic liver disease version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of sexual dysfunction assessment tool in women and men with chronic liver disease
IRAS ID
321617
Contact name
Michael Heneghan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Chronic liver disease (CLD) is increasing in prevalence and in particular among patients of reproductive age. CLD can impact reproductive health from sexual dysfunction to family planning and pregnancy related outcomes. Understanding the impact of CLD on reproductive health would allow targeted management strategies to be made which improves patient care.
Sexual dysfunction (SD) encompasses general symptoms such as reduced libido as well as gender specific ones including erectile dysfunction (ED), abnormal ejaculation in men and painful intercourse, altered orgasm in women. SD in CLD patients has not been fully explored whereas in recent years other chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease are starting to make progress in this field. Sexual dysfunction can cause significant negative impact to quality of life. Questionnaires to assess SD include international index of erectile dysfunction (IIEF), female sexual function index (FSFI) and female sexual distress scale (FSDS). Validated screening questionnaires to assess depression and anxiety include Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). However, these questionnaires do not include all components of SD and are not specific to patients with CLD. CLD patients may face disease specific problems such as the use of drugs which directly impact sexual function (e.g. beta blockers, immunomodulatory drugs), hormone imbalance in advanced cirrhosis affecting sexual function, significant morbidity in decompensation, fear of transmission (e.g. viral hepatitis) and the effect of surgery (e.g. transplantation). There is a need to develop a validated tool to assess sexual dysfunction in CLD so patients can be provided with tailored and personalised management which may include altering the use of SD causing medications, referral to other specialties and better management of mental health.
This study aims to review the impact of CLD on SD and develop a validated questionnaire to assess SD for male and female patients with CLD.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0236
Date of REC Opinion
13 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion