Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction in Patients with Epilepsy: A Cross-Sectional Study from a Tertiary Care Facility

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in individuals with epilepsy and its impact on overall quality of life. Methods: One hundred and twenty patients diagnosed with epilepsy and 50 healthy controls were assessed on Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire Short-Form (CSFQ-14) to estimate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction. Epilepsy patients were additionally evaluated for psychiatric morbidity using structured diagnostic interview. Results: On CSFQ-14, 97.5% of epilepsy patients experienced sexual dysfunction, surpassing controls. CSFQ’s suggested cutoff norms revealed prevalence of impaired pleasure/arousal (97.5%) to be the most common dysfunction, followed by reduced desire (93.33%), orgasm dysfunction (89.16%), painful erection (61.7%), and painful orgasm (30%). Compared to healthy subjects, epilepsy patients displayed significantly higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction across all domains ( P < .001). Patients with psychiatric morbidity had significantly higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction, when compared to those without psychiatric morbidity. Overall, the presence of sexual dysfunction had a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Conclusion: The present study suggests a very high prevalence of sexual dysfunction in epilepsy patients and emphasizes the need for holistic care in epilepsy patients. Healthcare providers must recognize and address sexual dysfunction to enhance the overall quality of life of patients with epilepsy.