Sexuality Almost one in ten women has pain during sexual intercourse

Physicians are looking for reasons for pain during sexual intercourse
Actually, the nicest incident should be a pleasant and exciting experience for both man and woman. But researchers found that nearly one in ten women suffers pain when having intercourse.

British scientists found in an investigation that apparently almost one in ten British women has pain during sex. About one quarter of these women suffer from permanent or very frequent pain. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology" (BJOG).
There are all sorts of reasons for dissatisfaction in bed. A large British study found that many women suffer from pain during intercourse. This of course leads to problems and frustration in the bedroom. (Image: vgstudio / fotolia.com)

Study examines about 7,000 sexually active women
The survey of nearly 7,000 British women found that 7.5 percent of sexually active women between the ages of 16 and 74 reported having had pain during the past three months or within the past year. A quarter of these women suffer from very common pain during sex, say the experts. For some participants, all sexual intercourse in the past six months has been painful.

Women of all ages are the most affected?
Women between the ages of 55 and 64 are the most affected by the problems, followed by younger women between the ages of 16 and 24, the authors explain. In general, the physicians concluded that painful sex is reported by a significant minority of women in the UK.

Many women with problems complain about a lack of interest in their sexual life
Also, many women reporting painful sex have been linked to other sexual problems. Many of those affected complained of a general lack of enjoyment during intercourse. 62 percent of women reported that they had no real interest in sex. 40 percent complained of lack of enjoyment. Almost a quarter of women with pain in sex said they did not feel any excitement or arousal during sex, the British scientists add.

Occurring problems can also affect the psyche
In addition, 45 percent of women surveyed complained of an uncomfortably dry vagina, compared to 10 percent of women who did not experience painful intercourse, say the doctors. There was also a link between pain in sex and mental health problems in women. One-fifth of all women in pain say they have fears of having sex. About 11 percent of women with pain during intercourse reported depression.

Affected women often have physical illnesses
Also, the physical health was often struck in the women with pain during intercourse. Thirteen percent of participants reported poor physical health and 11 percent said they had more than two chronic conditions, say the authors. Of women with pain during intercourse, 13 percent had sexually transmitted infections within the past five years.

Lack of communication leads to difficulties
About 13 percent of women with pain complained of a lack of emotional attachment. Eight percent of the participants also found it difficult to talk to their partners about sex. In addition, 14 percent of women in the study had a history of sexual abuse.

Many sufferers avoid intercourse in general
One third of the women also reported being dissatisfied with their sex life. By contrast, the value for women without pain was only ten percent. Nearly half of the women with pain (44.9 percent) avoided intercourse last year.

General happiness in the relationship does not have to affect the sex life
The study found no relationship between the overall happiness in the relationship and the sex life. However, a strong association with some sexual aspects of the relationship could be noted, say the physicians. These included, for example, the general interest in sex, the lack of an emotional connection and deviations of sexual likes or dislikes.

Out of embarrassment, many affected women are not looking for an expert
Many of the affected women do not know exactly how to deal with their problem. The pain that occurs during sexual intercourse is usually extremely unpleasant for these women, explain the scientists. For this reason, many sufferers avoid a visit to doctors or experts. These women simply can not imagine how a physician could improve their problem, the researchers explain. Or the affected women think they have already found another solution, such as reduced sexual intercourse or complete abstention. Thus, simple embarrassment may be one reason why so many women suffer from the problem. (As)