Background: General self-concept refers to a set of feelings and perceptions toward oneself, and sexual self-concept is defined as individual's perception of his/her sexual feelings and actions. These two concepts are affected by various life problems, including infertility. The present study aimed to evaluate correlation of general self-concept and sexual self-concept in infertile women. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was carried out on all infertile women who visited the Gorgan Infertility Center in 2018. Overall, 105 eligible infertile women were included in the study via convenience sampling. Data were collected using Persian versions of the Rogers self-concept questionnaire and the Snell sexual self-concept questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Pearson and Spearman's correlation tests in SPSS 16 and at significance of 0. 05. Results: Mean age of subjects was 28. 88±, 5. 14 years (range: 17 and 40 years). Based on the findings, 19% of the participants had normal general self-concept, 31. 4% had moderate self-concept, and 49. 5% had weak self-concept. Mean scores of positive sexual self-concept, negative self-concept and situational sexual self-concept were 118. 9±, 24. 85, 13. 33±, 8. 94 and 41. 98±, 10. 53, respectively. There was no correlation between general self-concept and different dimensions of sexual self-concept of the infertile women. Conclusion: Due to the lack of correlation between general self-concept and sexual self-concept in infertile women, it is suggested to conduct evaluations and interventions on the general and sexual self-concepts of the participants separately.

Background: The present study was designed to assess the association between sexual self-concept and sexual function in infertile women. Methods: A study with a convenience sample of women attending a referral infertility center (Royan Institute) was conducted in Tehran, Iran, in 2017. The Multidimensional Sexual Self-Concept Questionnaire (MSSCQ) and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) were used to collect data. Chi-Square, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression were applied to analyze the data. The significance level was set at p<0. 05. Results: The mean age of participants was 29. 7± 5. 2 years. Overall, 152 women (60. 8%) reported that they were experiencing sexual dysfunction. Comparing women with and without sexual dysfunction, there were significant differences between two groups on most measures such as sexual anxiety, sexual motivation, sexual satisfaction, and sexual depression (p<0. 05). However, the results obtained from logistic regression indicated that women’ s and husband’ s age (OR for women’ s age=1. 26, 95% CI=1. 10-1. 44, p<0. 001; OR for husband’ s age=0. 86, 95% CI=0. 77-0. 97, p=0. 014), cause of infertility (OR for female factor=9. 17, 95% CI=2. 26-37. 2, p=0. 002; OR for male factor=3. 90, 95% CI=1. 26-12. 1, p=0. 018; OR for male and female factor=3. 57, 95% CI=1. 12-11. 4, p=0. 032), sexual motivation (OR=0. 35, 95% CI=0. 16-0. 75, p= 0. 007) and sexual satisfaction (OR=0. 23, 95% CI=0. 09-0. 56, p=0. 001) were significantly associated with sexual dysfunction. Conclusion: The findings suggest that sexual motivation and sexual satisfaction are important dimensions of sexual self-concept in infertile women. Indeed, it is essential to inform policy makers and stakeholders to provide more sexual health support for this population in the process of treatment.

Background: There are several studies regarding sexual dysfunction in chronic diseases such as diabetes and renal failure; however, no significant study has been done on Iranian rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.Objectives: In this study, we aimed to identify and compare sexual dysfunction between RA patients and the normal population.Patients and Methods: In this case-control study, two groups of females (87 RA patients and 89 controls) were randomly selected from the rheumatology clinic of Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran. General health questionnaire (GHQ-28) and multidimensional sexual self-concept questionnaire (MSSCQ) were used to evaluate RA patients. We used SPSS for statistical analysis mainly by the t-test and chi-square test. P values less than 0.05 were considered significant.Results: In the GHQ-28 evaluation, RA patients had lower social function; however somatization rated higher in normal patients (P<0.05). Sexual health was lower in the RA population (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in sexual desire. Except sexual pain, other sexual health parameters were lower in RA patients. The scores were as follow: sensation 13.6±4.4 vs.12.2±4.5, P=0.024; lubrication 6.9±2.1 vs.6.2±2.1, P=0.017; orgasm 10.4±2.8 vs.9.5±3.2, P=0.37; pain 10.1±2.2 vs.10.8±1.9, P=0.013; enjoyment 23.8±5.8 vs.21.3±7.5, P=0.009 and partner related - 8.5±1.7 vs.7.6±2.4, P=0.005. Furthermore, the concern of losing their sexual partner was higher in the normal population.Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that almost all GHQ and MSSCQ parameters were lower in RA patients, which indicates lower quality sexual life in RA patients. We recommend further consideration for the treatment and care of these patients.