Romero-Gomez, BenjaminGuerrero-Alonso, PaulaCarmona-Torres, Juan ManuelLaredo-Aguilera, Jose AlbertoPozuelo-Carrascosa, Diana PatriciaCobo-Cuenca, Ana Isabel2023-02-092023-02-092020-06-15Romero-Gómez B, Guerrero-Alonso P, Carmona-Torres JM, Laredo-Aguilera JA, Pozuelo-Carrascosa DP, Cobo-Cuenca AI. Sexual Function in Levothyroxine-Treated Hypothyroid Women and Women without Hypothyroidism: A Case-Control. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun 17;17(12):4325http://hdl.handle.net/10668/15774Background: Levothyroxine is the most common treatment to normalize thyroid hormones levels and to reduce primary hypothyroidism symptoms. Aim: To assess sexual function in women with levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism and women without hypothyroidism. Methods: A case-control study was performed with 152 women with levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism and 238 women without hypothyroidism. An online survey was used to collect socio-demographic data and the answers to the Women Sexual Function (WSF) questionnaire. Results: Women with levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism showed a higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction than women in the control group (31.60% vs. 16.40%), furthermore the presence of hypothyroidism increased the risk of sexual dysfunction (p = 0.002, OR: 2.29 (1.36-3.88)). The most affected domains were 'desire' (p< 0.001), ‘arousal’ (p = 0.003) and ‘penetration pain’ (p = 0.020). In hypothyroid women, age increased the risk of sexual dysfunctions (p = 0.009, OR: 1.07 (1.01−1.12)), however when age was adjusted (ANCOVA) the sexual dysfunction remained in women with hypothyroidism in all domains. Conclusions: Hypothyroidism is associated with an increase in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction even if treated with levothyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels are normalized. Relevance to clinical practice: Sexual function in hypothyroid women should be assessed before and after starting the treatment.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/HealthHypothyroidismPhysiologicalSexual dysfunctionThyroid hormoneWomen’sÁrea de Gestión Sanitaria Sur de SevillaAdultCase-control studiesFemaleHumansHypothyroidismMiddle agedSexual dysfunction, physiologicalThyroid hormonesThyrotropinThyroxineresearch article32560383open accessDisfunciones sexuales fisiológicasFemeninoHipotiroidismoHormonas tiroideasPersona de mediana edadTirotropinaTiroxina10.3390/ijerph171243251660-4601PMC7344388https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/12/4325/pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7344388/pdf