Pleasurable and problematic receptive anal intercourse and diseases of the colon, rectum and anus.

The ability to experience pleasurable sexual activity is important for human health. Receptive anal intercourse (RAI) is a common, though frequently stigmatized, pleasurable sexual activity. Little is known about how diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus and their treatments affect RAI. Engaging in RAI with gastrointestinal disease can be difficult due to the unpredictability of symptoms and treatment-related toxic effects. Patients might experience sphincter hypertonicity, gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety, altered pelvic blood flow from structural disorders, decreased sensation from cancer-directed therapies or body image issues from stoma creation. These can result in problematic RAI - encompassing anodyspareunia (painful RAI), arousal dysfunction, orgasm dysfunction and decreased sexual desire. Therapeutic strategies for problematic RAI in patients living with gastrointestinal diseases and/or treatment-related dysfunction include pelvic floor muscle strengthening and stretching, psychological interventions, and restorative devices. Providing health-care professionals with a framework to discuss pleasurable RAI and diagnose problematic RAI can help improve patient outcomes. Normalizing RAI, affirming pleasure from RAI and acknowledging that the gastrointestinal system is involved in sexual pleasure, sexual function and sexual health will help transform the scientific paradigm of sexual health to one that is more just and equitable.

Female Sexual Dysfunction as Measured by Low Sexual Frequency is Associated With Lower Socioeconomic Status: An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2007-2016.

BACKGROUND: Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is a complex disorder of biopsychosocial etiology, and FSD symptoms affect more than 40% of adult women worldwide. AIM: In this cross-sectional study, we sought to investigate the association between FSD and socioeconomic status (SES) in a nationally representative female adult population. METHODS: Economic and sexual data for women aged 20-59 from the 2007-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a United States nationwide representative database, was analyzed. Poverty income ratio (PIR), a ratio of family income to poverty threshold, was used as a measure of SES, and low sexual frequency was used as a measure of FSD. The association between FSD and SES was analyzed using survey-weighted logistic regression after adjusting for relevant social and gynecologic covariates, such as marital status and history of pregnancy, as well as significant medical comorbidities. OUTCOMES: We found that FSD, as measured by low sexual frequency, was associated with lower SES. RESULTS: Among the 7,348 women of mean age 38.4 (IQR 29-47) included in the final analysis, 26.3% of participants reported sexual frequency of 0-11 times/year and 73.7% participants reported sexual frequency >11 times/year. Participants of PIR <2 were 92% more likely to report sexual frequency ≤11 times/year than those of PIR ≥2 after adjusting for demographics, social history, gynecologic history and significant medical conditions (OR = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.21-3.05; P < .006). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The evaluation and treatment of FSD may benefit from a comprehensive approach that takes SES into account. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by its cross-sectional design, but it is strengthened by a large, nationally representative sample with extensive, standardized data ascertainment. CONCLUSION: Lower SES and lower sexual frequency are directly correlated among female adults in the United States; future studies should focus on social determinants of health as risk factors for FSD. Kim JI, Zhu D, Davila J, et al. Female Sexual Dysfunction as Measured by Low Sexual Frequency is Associated With Lower Socioeconomic Status: An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2007-2016. J Sex Med 2022;19:90-97.

Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin.

BACKGROUND: A set of enduring conditions have been reported in the literature involving persistent sexual dysfunction after discontinuation of serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressants, 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors and isotretinoin. OBJECTIVE: To develop diagnostic criteria for post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) following serotonin reuptake inhibitors, post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) and post-retinoid sexual dysfunction (PRSD). METHODS: The original draft was designed using data from two published case series (Hogan et al., 2014 and Healy et al., 2018), which represent the largest public collections of data on these enduring conditions. It was further developed with the involvement of a multidisciplinary panel of experts. RESULTS: A set of criteria were agreed upon for each of the above conditions. Features of PSSD, PFS and PRSD commonly include decreased genital and orgasmic sensation, decreased sexual desire and erectile dysfunction. Ancillary non-sexual symptoms vary depending on the specific condition but can include emotional blunting and cognitive impairment. PGAD presents with an almost mirror image of unwanted sensations of genital arousal or irritability in the absence of sexual desire. A new term, post-SSRI asexuality, is introduced to describe a dampening of sexual interest and pleasure resulting from a pre-natal or pre-teen exposure to a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: These criteria will help in both clinical and research settings. As with all criteria, they will likely need modification in the light of developments.

Pharmaceutical and Energy-Based Management of Sexual Problems in Women.

This article summarizes and critiques the evidence for use of available pharmacotherapies (vasoactive, psychoactive, and hormonal medications) and energy-based therapies (laser, radiofrequency, shockwave, and neurostimulation) for treatment of female sexual dysfunction. The enthusiasm with which energy-based treatments for sexual dysfunction have been adopted is disproportionate to the amount of data currently available to support their clinical use. Pharmacotherapy for female sexual dysfunction has considerably more research evidence to justify its use. Patients must be empowered to make an informed, autonomous determination as to whether the risk/reward ratio favors the use of pharmacotherapy, energy-based therapy, or some other treatment intervention.

A Call to Update Standard of Care for Children With Differences in Sex Development.

For years, physicians have debated how best to care for children with differences in sex development (DSD, also termed intersex). Stories of suffering of adults who underwent early surgical intervention for DSD have led many health organizations to call for deferral of unnecessary procedures. While some have instituted full deferral of cosmetic procedures, standard of care remains an interdisciplinary team approach informed by parents' wishes. As the medical community hesitates to institute full deferral, citing absence of long-term data, legislation restricting early procedures is mounting. This article highlights recent data from the DSD-LIFE Study and considers whether and to what extent they support deferral.

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine-potential therapeutic application for the treatment of COVID-19.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete medical system that has evolved over millennia to include practices and procedures such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, manual therapies, nutrition, and mind-body therapies such as qi gong. In modern-day China and other Asian countries, TCM is a medical subspecialty utilized alongside western biomedicine. During the current Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, TCM and TCM herbal medicine is being used and a number of single herbs and combination formulas have significant bioactivity and therapeutic potential. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the use of TCM in the treatment of COVID-19. This commentary provides the reader with a concise background on COVID-19 and summarizes TCM concepts including identification, pattern diagnosis, and treatment principles commonly used for the treatment of viral influenza-like diseases. It also highlights some of the challenges and potential for using TCM in an integrated medical setting.

The Resilient Child: Sex-Steroid Hormones and COVID-19 Incidence in Pediatric Patients.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), a disease caused by Severe Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has become an unprecedented global health emergency, with fatal outcomes among adults of all ages in the United States, and the highest incidence and mortality in adult men. As the pandemic evolves there is limited understanding of a potential association between symptomatic viral infection and age. To date, there is no knowledge of the role children (prepubescent, ages 9-13 years) play as "silent" vectors of the virus, with themselves being asymptomatic. Throughout different time frames and geographic locations, the current evidence on COVID-19 suggests that children are becoming infected at a significantly lower rate than other age groups-as low as 1%. Androgens upregulate the protease TMPRSS2 (type II transmembrane serine protease-2), which facilitates efficient virus-host cell fusion with the epithelium of the lungs, thus increasing susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of severe COVID-19. Owing to low levels of steroid hormones, prepubertal children may have low expression of TMPRSS2, thereby limiting the viral entry into host cells. As the world anticipates a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the role of prepubescent children as vectors transmitting the virus must be interrogated to prepare for a potential resurgence of COVID-19. This review discusses the current evidence on the low incidence of COVID-19 in children and the effect of sex-steroid hormones on SARS-CoV-2 viral infection and clinical outcomes of pediatric patients. On reopening society at large, schools will need to implement heightened health protocols with the knowledge that children as the "silent" viral transmitters can significantly affect the adult populations.