Abstract
Objective
To assess different aspects of sexual function in men with spinal cord injury (SCI)
using the Male Sexual Quotient (MSQ), a newly developed tool to assess sexual function
and satisfaction.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
Tertiary rehabilitation center.
Participants
Patients (N=295) older than 18 years (mean age ± SD, 40.7±14.5y) with SCI for more
than 1 year (median time since SCI, 3.6y; range, 1.6–7.0y) were assessed from February
to August 2012. Patients completed the MSQ questionnaire and the Sexual Health Inventory
for Men (SHIM).
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Performance in various domains of sexual function was evaluated using the MSQ and
SHIM questionnaires.
Results
Erectile function, ejaculation, and orgasm were the most severely affected domains.
The median MSQ score was 40 (range, 8–66), and the median SHIM score was 5 (range,
0–16). The diagnostic properties of the 2 instruments were similar in the discrimination
of sexually active subjects. The area under the receiver operating characteristic
curve was .950 (95% confidence interval [CI], .923–.979) for the MSQ and .942 (95%
CI, .915–.968) for the SHIM. There was a strong correlation between the 2 instruments
(r=.826; 95% CI, .802–.878).
Conclusions
Different domains of sexual function are severely impaired in men with SCI, although
their sexual interest remains high. The MSQ and SHIM scores strongly correlate, but
the MSQ provides a more comprehensive assessment of sexual dysfunction in male patients
with SCI.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
AUC (area under the curve), CI (confidence interval), ED (erectile dysfunction), MSQ (Male Sexual Quotient), ROC (receiver operating characteristic), SCI (spinal cord injury), SHIM (Sexual Health Inventory for Men)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 28, 2016
Footnotes
Supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, grant protocol no. 2011/51868-5).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
