Room 518 | Male - Sexual Dysfunction Tuesday, July 12, 2005 Time: 2:30 PM-4:30 PM |
Premature Ejaculation: Impact on the Female Partner.
Rowland, David *,1, Althof, Stanley2, Patrick, Donald 3, Jamieson, Carol4, Rothman, Margaret 4, 1 Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, USA2 Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Beachwood, OH, USA3 University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA4 Johnson & Johnson, Mountain View, CA, USA
ABSTRACT- Introduction and Objectives: Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most common male sexual dysfunction, affecting approximately 30% of the adult male population. PE negatively impacts both the man and his partner; however, the effects of PE on the partner have not been explored extensively. The objectives of the current analysis were to provide information surrounding partner perceptions of ejaculatory function and to assess sexual satisfaction, distress, and interpersonal difficulty in female partners of men with and without a diagnosis of PE. Methods: Data were obtained from a 4-week, multi-center observational study that enrolled subjects with PE (n = 207) and without PE (n = 1380) and their partners. Subjects were classified as PE or non-PE by a clinician according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. At Weeks 2 and 4 of the study, female partners completed single-item, patient-reported outcome measures that assessed female perception of subject control over ejaculation (5-point scale; 0=very poor to 4=very good), satisfaction with sexual intercourse (5-point scale; 0=very poor to 4=very good), and personal distress (5-point scale; 0=not at all to 4=extremely) and interpersonal difficulty (5-point scale; 0=not at all to 4=extremely) resulting from their partner′s ejaculatory latency. Responses were compared between partners of men with and without PE using the 2-sample t test. Results: Compared with partners of men without PE, partners of men with PE had significantly lower perceptions of subject control over ejaculation (mean, 3.28 vs 1.45, respectively; P < 0.0001) and ratings of satisfaction with sexual intercourse (mean, 3.36 vs 2.10, respectively; P < 0.0001). In addition, compared with partners of men without PE, partners of men with PE had significantly higher levels of personal distress (mean, 0.41 vs 2.19, respectively; P < 0.0001) and interpersonal difficulty (mean, 0.22 vs 1.52, respectively; P < 0.0001). Conclusions: This study documented the psychosocial impact on the female partner resulting from the man′s premature ejaculation. Female partners of men with PE reported lower satisfaction with sexual intercourse and greater personal distress and interpersonal difficulty compared with partners of men without PE.
Key words: premature ejaculation, female partner, sexual dysfunction, psychosocial impact, orgasmic dysfunction