Observational studyMenopause (New York, N.Y.)2017
Change in sexual functioning over the menopausal transition: results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.
Observational study in Menopause (New York, N.Y.), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 171 citations in OpenAlex.
- Qualitative Findings from a Pilot Trial of Mindfulness for Low Sexual Desire in Midlife and Older Women.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Trial
- Effect of Salvia officinalis scent on postmenopausal women's sexual function and satisfaction: a randomized controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2023Trial
- Article
- Relationship between body image and sexual function in peri and postmenopausal women: A systematic review.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Review
- Sexual Function and Associated Factors in Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Health science reports · 2025Review
- Menopause knowledge, attitudes and experiences of women in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- The Role of Sexual Function in Quality of Life Among Midlife and Older Women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2024Article
- Perimenopausal women's voices: How does their period at the end of reproductive life affect wellbeing?Post reproductive health · 2023Article
- Hormone therapy for sexual function in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Postmenopausal women's usage of complementary and alternative medicine and its relationship to sexual function: A cross-sectional study in southeastern Iran.Health science reports · 2023Article
- Sexual dysfunction, distress, and care-seeking among females during the preconception period.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2023Article
- Vestibular tissue changes following administration of intravaginal prasterone: a vulvoscopic open-label pilot study in menopausal women with dyspareunia.Sexual medicine · 2023Article
- Genitourinary syndrome in menopause: Impact of vaginal symptoms.Turkish journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2023Article
- Vitagnus an estrogen-riched herbal remedy used in sexual dysfunction: A randomized clinical trial.Journal of education and health promotion · 2023Article
- The impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on quality of life among battered wives in India amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Comparison of the effect of licorice vaginal cream and estrogen vaginal cream on sexual function of postmenopausal women: An RCT.International journal of reproductive biomedicine · 2022Article
- Women's experiences in the transition to menopause: a qualitative research.BMC women's health · 2022Article
- The association between sexual function and body image among postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study.BMC women's health · 2021Article
- Transcultural Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish Version of the Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women (SSS-W-E).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- The impact of menopause on sexual function in women and their spouses.African health sciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe aim of the study was to identify whether there is a decline in sexual functioning related to the menopausal transition or to hysterectomy.
methodsIn a cohort of 1,390 women aged 42 to 52, with intact uterus and at least one ovary, not using hormone therapy, and pre- or early perimenopausal at baseline, we fit piecewise linear growth curves to 5,798 repeated measurements (seven visits spanning 14.5 y) of a sexual functioning score (range, 5-25) as a function of time relative to date of final menstrual period (FMP) or hysterectomy.
resultsMean sexual functioning at baseline in women with a dateable FMP was 18.0 (SD, 3.4). There was no change in sexual function until 20 months before the FMP. From 20 months before until 1 year after the FMP, sexual function decreased by 0.35 annually (95% CI, -0.44 to -0.26) and continued to decline more than 1 year after the FMP, but at a slower rate (-0.13 annually, 95% CI, -0.17 to -0.10). The decline was smaller in African Americans and larger in Japanese than whites. Vaginal dryness, lubricant use, depressive symptoms, or anxiety did not explain decline in sexual function. Women who had a hysterectomy before the FMP did not show a decline in sexual function before hysterectomy, but scores declined afterward (0.21 annually, 95% CI, -0.28 to -0.14).
conclusionsDecline in sexual function became apparent 20 months before FMP and slowed 1 year after FMP through 5 years afterward. A decline in sexual function was observed immediately after hysterectomy and persisted for the 5 years of observation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.