Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 on the Sexual Performance of Women of Reproductive Age: A Comparison with the Post-Pandemic Period

Evidence suggests that one of the behaviors impacted by the quarantine measures enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic is sexual activity. This study aims to investigate this phenomenon.

A descriptive-analytical study with before-after measurement was conducted during both the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic periods in 2021-2022, utilizing the standard Sexual Performance Index questionnaire administered to 250 women in Ilam province. Inferential statistics including paired t tests, correlation and chi square analysis were performed by SPSS software.

The findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on all six components of sexual function in women of reproductive age, including sexual desire, sexual stimulation, lubrication, pleasure, satisfaction and pain. The average overall sexual performance during the COVID-19 period (2.01±1.25) and in the post-COVID-19 period (2.94±1.2) was lower than the cutoff point (3.8), indicating poor performance across the entire scale of sexual function. The results showed that there is an inverse and significant (P<0.05) relationship between age, duration of marriage and number of pregnancies with sexual function index and its subscales.

The study findings suggest that research population experienced weaker sexual performance during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the post-pandemic period, highlighting the impact of the mental and physical burdens associated with the pandemic on sexual function.