The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Sexual Function in Jordan: Cross-sectional Study

Iman Aolymat; Lina Abdul Kadir; Mohannad Al Nsour; Hana Taha

doi:10.2196/40772

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Sexual Function in Jordan: Cross-sectional Study

JMIR Form Res. 2023 Feb 16:7:e40772. doi: 10.2196/40772.

Authors

Iman Aolymat¹, Lina Abdul Kadir², Mohannad Al Nsour³, Hana Taha^{4

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
² Department of Eye and Vision Science, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
³ Global Health Development, Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network, Amman, Jordan.
⁴ Department of Pharmacology, Public Health and Clinical Skills, Faculty of Medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
⁵ Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁶ Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.

PMID: 36745774
PMCID: PMC9937107
DOI: 10.2196/40772

Abstract

Background: Sexual function is a complex physiological process controlled by neurovascular and endocrine mechanisms that are affected by stressful events. The sexual response cycle consists of four main phases, which are sexual desire or libido, arousal or excitement, orgasm, and resolution. The COVID-19 outbreak is one of the most stressful events historically, causing several unpleasant consequences, including major physical and mental disorders, and sexual dysfunction and alteration in sexual behavior are possible anticipated consequences of the pandemic. Moreover, there are social taboos related to sexual behavior in Jordan, and the current knowledge on changes in Jordanian female sexual function during COVID-19 pandemic is limited.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on women's sexual function during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that employed a web-based survey to follow 200 female individuals from the general population in Jordan. The survey evaluated sexual function both during COVID-19 and 6 months prior to the pandemic. The primary outcomes investigated in this study were the changes in sexual intercourse frequency and sexual function aspects, including desire, arousal, satisfaction, orgasm, lubrication, and pain during sexual activity. Data were analyzed using paired t test, McNemar test, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regression using SPSS 25.

Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the participants' sexual intercourse frequency increased while their sexual satisfaction was significantly changed. The proportion of participants who had 0-2 times per week of sexual intercourse was decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with that before the pandemic (n=90, 45% vs n=103, 51.5%; P=.02). Conversely, the number of female individuals with 3-7 times per week of sexual intercourse increased after the pandemic compared with the prepandemic state (n=103, 51.5% vs n=91, 45.5%; P=.04). Female sexual satisfaction was significantly reduced after the COVID-19 pandemic compared with that before the pandemic (3.39 vs 3.30; P=.049). The other categories of sexual function, including desire, arousal, satisfaction, orgasm, lubrication, and dyspareunia showed no significant changes during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the previous 6 months. There were no significant differences between the total sexual function mean scores during COVID-19 (15.73) compared with the prepandemic scores (15.85; P=.41). The total score of female sexual function during the pandemic was negatively associated with the participants' age and education level. Correlations between various demographics and sexual function categories during the COVID-19 pandemic were identified.

Conclusions: This is the first study exploring female sexual function during the COVID-19 outbreak in Jordan. The results suggest that COVID-19-associated stress is influencing women's sexual function, necessitating the provision of adequate emotional and physiological well-being support for women during similar crises.

Keywords: COVID-19; Jordan; female sexual function; pandemic; sexual dysfunction; stress physiology.

©Iman Aolymat, Lina Abdul Kadir, Mohannad Al Nsour, Hana Taha. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 16.02.2023.