Comparing the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) andtreatment with sildenafil on men's sexual arousal disorder and menopausalwomen sexual dysfunction

Sexual dysfunction occurs when there is a problem that prevents the desire and enjoyment of sexualactivities. This disorder can happen at any time and men and women at any age experience sexualdysfunction, although the probability of these problems increases with age. The sexual instinct, whichis the source of many changes in human life, can be disturbed by several factors, one of which is thephenomenon of menopause and aging. Sexual dysfunction in women is prevalent and common inwomen after menopause. Many attempts to treat patients with sexual dysfunction by cognitivebehavioraltherapy (CBT) methods. But to the best of our knowledge, there has been no study thatcompared these two methods. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the effects of sildenafiland cognitive-behavioral therapy on treatment of sexual dysfunction in women and men's sexual arousaldisorder. In this randomized, controlled, clinical trial, ۸۶ women and man and manand manwith arousaland orgasm dysfunction were surveyed. The patients were divided into two groups, i.e., sildenafil andCBT groups. The patients in the sildenafil group were treated by ۵۰ mg of oral sildenafil one hour beforeintercourse, and the other group had weekly sessions of CBT for eight weeks. Sexual dysfunctions wereevaluated by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), a sexual satisfaction questionnaire, and theEnrich marital satisfaction scale. The mean age of the participants was ۳۳.۱۴ ± ۷.۳۴ years. The meanscores for female and men sexual function index, sexual satisfaction, and the Enrich marital satisfactionscale were increased in both groups during treatment (p < ۰.۰۰۱). It was found that cognitive-behavioraltherapy compared to treatment with sildenafil increased all subscales, except arousal, orgasm, andlubrication. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is more effective than treatment with sildenafil for improvingfemale and men sexual function.

Keywords:

Female arousal disorder , Orgasm , Marital satisfaction , Sildenafil , Cognitive-behavioraltherapy.