London - We’re encouraged to discuss everything with our GP, but it could be that doctors are too quick to diagnose sexual issues as medical disorders.
Research had previously suggested sexual problems were widespread – with nearly four in ten men affected, and almost a quarter of women.
But a new study, applying stricter “internationally recognised” criteria, shows that in reality, just 4.2 percent of men and 3.6 percent of women should be diagnosed with problems.
In fact, the authors said that – far from being unusual – occasional “mild and transient” sexual difficulties “are sufficiently common to be considered normal”.
To qualify as a problem, the issues had to have lasted for at least six months, happened 75 percent of the time or more, and caused “significant distress”.
Once these conditions were applied, the numbers correctly categorised as suffering problems such as erectile dysfunction and lack of interest in sex were far smaller but “still significant” – amounting to 1.8 million in the UK and 8.9 million in the US.
One explanation for the gap may be pressure from the pharmaceutical industry to sell drugs for sexual problems. The study suggested this could lead to ‘encouraging mild symptoms to be viewed as severe’.
In 2012 alone the NHS spent £88-million on drugs to treat erectile dysfunction – half of which was spent on Viagra.
The research applied the stricter diagnostic guidelines from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) – known as the “psychiatrists” bible.
The changes were designed to improve precision, “reduce likelihood of overdiagnosis” and “distinguish transient sexual difficulties from more persistent sexual dysfunction”.
The authors, led by Kirstin Mitchell of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the difference between “mild difficulties” and “clinical dysfunction” had been an issue in psychiatry for many years – but has now become critical.
And they said that the old estimates, which they described as “not particularly credible”, may lead to “inertia” over combating the problems as “the disease burden seems so large”. They said their new estimates ‘”suggest it may be possible to address the disease burden caused by sexual problems given sufficient commitment and resources”.
The study used a database called Natsal-3 – a survey of 15 162 British men and women aged 16–74 years that was “broadly representative of the British population” at the time of the 2011 census.
It found that the most common complaints taken to GPs were erectile dysfunction for men – with 60 percent of sufferers visiting their doctor – and low libido for women, with just over half of sufferers seeking help.
Daily Mail