OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its associated factors in middle-aged women with 11 years or more of formal education. METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study was carried out using an anonymous, self-response questionnaire. A total of 315 Brazilian-born women, 40-65 years of age with 11 years or more of schooling, participated in the study. The instrument used in the evaluation was based on the Short Personal Experiences Questionnaire. Sexual dysfunction was calculated from the mean score of sexual responsiveness (pleasure in sexual activities, excitation and orgasm), frequency of sexual activities and libido. Sociodemographic and clinical factors were evaluated. Poisson multiple regression analysis was carried out and the prevalence ratios with respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of sexual dysfunction was 35.9% among our study population. Multiple regression analysis showed that sexual dysfunction was positively associated with older age (prevalence ratios=1.04; 95%CI:1.01-1.07) and with the presence of hot flashes (prevalence ratios=1.37; 95%CI:1.04-1.80). Having a sexual partner (PR=0.47; 95%CI:0.34-0.65) and feeling well or excellent (prevalence ratios= 0.68; 95%CI: 0.52-0.88) were factors associated with lower sexual dysfunction scores. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual dysfunction was present in more than one-third of women that were 40-65 years of age with 11 years or more of formal education. Within that age group, older age and hot flashes were associated with higher sexual dysfunction scores, whereas feeling well and having a sexual partner were associated with better sexuality.

Foram estudadas 257 mulheres com diagnóstico de doença benigna de mama (DBM), atestado por anatomopatológico ou citologia, e um controle para cada uma delas. Foram apresentados resultados das possíveis relações entre variáveis reprodutivas e o risco para DBM. Os casos e controles foram comparados levando em conta a idade na menarca e na menopausa, o número de gravidezes, de meses em que amamentaram e de ciclos menstruais ovulatórios, e os antecedentes familiares de câncer de mama. Mostraram influência significativa, em relação às DBM, a nuliparidade, aumentando o risco enquanto a idade de 30 ou mais anos no primeiro parto o reduziu; o número de ciclos ovulatórios, que foi significativamente maior para os casos, e a média de meses de uso de pílula, menor entre as mulheres com DBM. O uso de contraceptivos orais apresentou um efeito protetor apenas quando a duração total do uso foi maior que dois anos. Os resultados não se revelaram novos ou diferentes se comparados com outros estudos, mas confirmam a relativa concordância entre os fatores de risco para DBM e para câncer de mama, ainda que as relações entre esses fatores e as DBM não sejam tão claras como o são para o câncer, e existam também algumas discrepâncias.

The purpose of the study was the identification of risk factors for benign breast diseases (BBD); 257 women with BBD diagnosed through pathological anatomy or citology and a matched control for each were studied. Subjects were selected at The State University of Campinas Hospital and at a private clinic. To enter the study cases had to have a first diagnosis of BBD between October 1979 and August 1984. The following BBD were considered: dysplasia, fibroadenoma, cystic disease, papilloma and ductal ectasia. Reproductive variables were studied as risk factors, including menstrual ovulatory cycles. The date on which the BBD was diagnosed was defined as the index date. For controls, data were considered up to when they had reached the same age as the matched case on the occasion of her diagnosis. Nulliparity was a risk factor for BBD. First birth at or above age 30 was a protective factor. Women who had used contraceptive pills for two or more years had a significantly lower risk than those who had never used them. The number of menstrual ovulatory cycles was not found to be associated with the risk of BBD. The results obtained from the study of Brazilian women confirm some of the conclusions found in the literature, mainly those that associate some reproductive variables with the risk of BBD. A few of these variables are also confirmed as risk factors for breast cancer.

Foram estudadas 257 mulheres com diagnóstico de doença benigna de mama (DBM), atestado por anatomopatológico ou citologia, e um controle para cada uma delas. Foram apresentados resultados das possíveis relações entre variáveis reprodutivas e o risco para DBM. Os casos e controles foram comparados levando em conta a idade na menarca e na menopausa, o número de gravidezes, de meses em que amamentaram e de ciclos menstruais ovulatórios, e os antecedentes familiares de câncer de mama. Mostraram influência significativa, em relação às DBM, a nuliparidade, aumentando o risco enquanto a idade de 30 ou mais anos no primeiro parto o reduziu; o número de ciclos ovulatórios, que foi significativamente maior para os casos, e a média de meses de uso de pílula, menor entre as mulheres com DBM. O uso de contraceptivos orais apresentou um efeito protetor apenas quando a duração total do uso foi maior que dois anos. Os resultados não se revelaram novos ou diferentes se comparados com outros estudos, mas confirmam a relativa concordância entre os fatores de risco para DBM e para câncer de mama, ainda que as relações entre esses fatores e as DBM não sejam tão claras como o são para o câncer, e existam também algumas discrepâncias.

The purpose of the study was the identification of risk factors for benign breast diseases (BBD); 257 women with BBD diagnosed through pathological anatomy or citology and a matched control for each were studied. Subjects were selected at The State University of Campinas Hospital and at a private clinic. To enter the study cases had to have a first diagnosis of BBD between October 1979 and August 1984. The following BBD were considered: dysplasia, fibroadenoma, cystic disease, papilloma and ductal ectasia. Reproductive variables were studied as risk factors, including menstrual ovulatory cycles. The date on which the BBD was diagnosed was defined as the index date. For controls, data were considered up to when they had reached the same age as the matched case on the occasion of her diagnosis. Nulliparity was a risk factor for BBD. First birth at or above age 30 was a protective factor. Women who had used contraceptive pills for two or more years had a significantly lower risk than those who had never used them. The number of menstrual ovulatory cycles was not found to be associated with the risk of BBD. The results obtained from the study of Brazilian women confirm some of the conclusions found in the literature, mainly those that associate some reproductive variables with the risk of BBD. A few of these variables are also confirmed as risk factors for breast cancer.