• Gal Ifergane, Itzhak Z Ben-Zion, Ygal Plakht, Keren Regev, and Itzhak Wirguin.
• Headache Clinic, Department of Neurology, Soroka Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 151, Beer-Sheva, Israel. galif@clalit.org.il
• J Headache Pain. 2008 Apr 1; 9 (2): 113117113-7.

AbstractChronic illness and chronic pain can have profound negative effects on relationship and sexual satisfaction, yet the influence of migraine on sexuality has not been previously evaluated. To assess sexual functions in subjects with migraine compared to those with no migraine. We evaluated female university students using the Israeli sexual behavior inventory (ISBI). Migraine was diagnosed according to self-reported symptoms according to the IHS criteria. Several dimensions of female sexuality--desire, orgasm, sexual avoidance, interpersonal sexual relationship, health influence, satisfaction and pain were evaluated using a structured questionnaire. Thirty-three (23.9%) of the participants met the IHS criteria for episodic migraine with and without aura. Sexual activity, desire, orgasm and satisfaction from sexual life did not differ significantly between migraine sufferers and non-sufferers. Migraine patients reported lower ISBI scores, higher health influence on sexual life, higher levels of sexual pain and lower sexual satisfaction. Migraine negatively affected the sexual life of sufferers. Sexual pain disorder is more common among migraine sufferers compared to non-migraineurs.

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