Research article

Gender differences in sex life issues – A population-based study of migraine sufferers

Markku PT Sumanen^1,2 , Ansa Ojanlatva^3,4,5 , Anna Rantala⁶ , Lauri H Sillanmäki⁷ and Kari J Mattila^1,8

¹University of Tampere, Medical School, Finland

²Kangasala Health Centre, Finland

³Department of Teacher Education, Turku, Finland

⁴Institute of Biomedicine, Center for Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, University of Turku, Finland

⁵Turku City Hospital, Finland

⁶Tampere Health Centre, Finland

⁷University of Turku, Department of Public Health, Finland

⁸Hospital District of Pirkanmaa, Department of General Practice, Finland

author email corresponding author email

BMC Family Practice 2008, 9:19doi:10.1186/1471-2296-9-19

Published:	9 April 2008

Abstract

Background

Migraine is considered to have a negative influence on sex life. The present study was to analyse the perceptions of importance of and satisfaction with sex life as well as the expression of interest in sex among people having migraines in a prospective follow-up mail survey in 1998 and 2003.

Methods

The random sample was stratified according to gender and age in four age groups (20–24, 30–34, 40–44, and 50–54 years). Altogether 25 898 individuals responded to the baseline and 19 626 to the follow-up questionnaire (75.8% response rate). We examined as to how the perceptions of sex life of those suffering from migraine changed during a 5-year follow-up. Conditional logistic regression was used to analyse the data of the responses on self-reported migraine in the baseline and follow-up surveys (N = 2 977, 79.2% women). Each person with migraine was assigned a gender- and age-matched control in the analysis.

Results

All three outcome variables tended to decrease in value. Importance of sex life was higher among men with migraine than among their controls. Among women migraine lessened interest in sex life.

Conclusion

Our findings suggested that migraine has a different impact on sex life among women from that among men.