Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy on Women's Sexuality (VTOPSimpact)

Description of the Evolution of Women's Sexuality After a Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy

The impact on sexuality has been less studied and there is no French study on this subject and the rare studies are contradictory.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of abortion (medical or surgical) on female sexuality, to look for a difference in the impact on sexuality according to the method used for the termination (medical or surgical) just after the procedure and at 1, 3 and 6 months and to look for risk factors and protective factors for the existence or occurrence of sexual dysfunction before and after abortion.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Abortion
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: questionnaire

Detailed Description

The medical consequences of abortion are low. However, there is an undeniable emotional and psychological impact on these women (40-45% of anxiety-type symptoms, approximately 20% of depressive symptoms after the discovery of the pregnancy and 30% of emotional disorders, particularly anxiety, in the month following the abortion).

The impact on sexuality has been less studied and there is no French study on this subject and the rare studies are contradictory.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of voluntary termination of pregnancy (medical or surgical) on female sexuality, to look for a difference in the impact on sexuality according to the method used for the termination (medical or surgical) just after the procedure and at 1, 3 and 6 months and to look for risk factors and protective factors for the existence or occurrence of sexual dysfunction before and after a termination.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 209

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Bordeaux, France
    • CHU Bordeaux

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Women performing a medical or surgical abortion

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patient (≥ 18 years)
• Patient performing a medical or surgical abortion
• Patient with health insurance
• No opposition to participation in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient who does not speak French and/or is illiterate
• Patient under legal protection
• Patient unable to complete the study procedures (no internet connection, no smart phone or tablet)
• Patient with diagnosed psychiatric comorbidities.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Case-Only
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Abortion; Adult women performing a medical or surgical abortion	Other: questionnaire; Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and self-administrative questionnaires on sexuality just after abortion and repeated at 1, 3 and 6 months

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of patients with sexual dysfunction	Sexual dysfunction is assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, which takes into account several aspects of female sexuality: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain. The threshold for differentiating between patients with and without sexual dysfunction is 26.55	Month 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Marital status	single, couple, married	Baseline
Number of sexual partners in the last 12 months	Number of sexual partners via self-questionnaire : 1 ; from 2 to 5 ; from 6 to 10 ; from 11 to 15 ; from 16 to 20 ; up to 20	Baseline
Number of sexual partners in the whole life	Number of sexual partners via self-questionnaire : 1 ; from 2 to 5 ; from 6 to 10 ; from 11 to 15 ; from 16 to 20 ; up to 20	Baseline
Number of sexual partners in the last 4 weeks	Number of sexual partners via self-questionnaire : 0, 1, from 2 to 5, up to 5	Baseline
Frequency of sexual activity in the last month before pregnancy discovery	< 1 /month ; from 1 from 3 /month ; 1 /week ; twice /week ; 3 or more times /week	Baseline, Month 1, Month 3, Month 6
Existence of physical violence in the whole life	binary variable (yes/no)	Baseline
Existence of psychological violence in the whole life	binary variable (yes/no)	Baseline
Existence of sexual violence in the whole life	binary variable (yes/no)	Baseline
Existence of psychological symptoms before pregnancy's discovery	asthenia, sadness, anxiety, guilt, none	Baseline
Existence of psychological symptoms in the last month	asthenia, sadness, anxiety, guilt, none	Month 1, Month 3, Month 6
Existence of sexual difficulties since pregnancy's discovery	Decreased desire, arousal, lubrication, quantity or quality of orgasms, sexual satisfaction or relationship with the partner, appearance or increase of pain during sexual intercourse, no change in these different areas of sexuality	Baseline
Sexual activity the last month	Decreased sexual activity (fear of another pregnancy, waiting to start contraception, conflict with partner after abortion, other reason), Not concerned about decreased sexual activity	Month 1, Month 3, Month 6
Contraception in the last month	none, removal/cycles, condoms, pill, intrauterine devic, implant, ring/patch, other	Month 1, Month 3, Month 6

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Bordeaux

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 27, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 10, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): February 10, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 28, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 13, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): January 18, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 8, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Abortion; FSFI; Female sexuality
• Other Study ID Numbers: CHUBX 2022/71

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No