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Volume 12 Issue 3 ( July-September ) 2023

Original Articles

Comparison of anxiety and pain overstating in healthy females to females with dyspareunia
Dr. Puja Sinha, Dr. Holikatti Prabhakar C, Dr. Amrita Chauhan, Dr. Priyadarshini Rangari

Background: The quality of life, mental health, and physical health are negatively affected in females with dyspareunia. Dyspareunia is related to various individual effects including depression, anger, anxiety, deprivation of sense, lack the self-esteem, guilt, shame, and embarrassment. With the large role of cognitive variables including anxiety and pain catastrophizing in chronic pain, literature data is scarce about their correlation with dyspareunia. Aim: The present study aimed to comparatively assess pain catastrophizing and anxiety in healthy females to females with dyspareunia in reproductive age. Methods: The present study assessed 188 married Indian females selected randomly for the study. In all included females, data were gathered using a proforma recording demographics, background, and self-reported dyspareunia. The questionnaires used in the study were STAI-6 (Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety) and PCS (pain catastrophizing scale) to assess study females. Results: It was seen that in 49.46% (n=93) females, dyspareunia was reported within the past six months which was decreased to 42.02% (n=79) and 30.85% (n=58) with the more specific dyspareunia criteria. Higher scores for anxiety and pain catastrophizing were seen in females having dyspareunia compared to the females comprising the control group with no dyspareunia. Correlation was seen in anxiety to sexual abuse, duration of marriage, and age, whereas, pain catastrophizing was correlated to body image dissatisfaction and aversion to genital contact. Conclusion: The present study concludes that a significant association exists between anxiety and pain catastrophizing to dyspareunia which depicts that dyspareunia is usually considered to be associated with physical cause, but psychological factors also play a vital role in dyspareunia and should be considered. Managing traumatic thoughts and anxiety can help subjects with dyspareunia cope with pain in a better way.

 
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