The study included 14 women with vitamin D deficiency, 14 women with vitamin D insufficiency, as well as 14 matched healthy women. All participants of the study completed questionnaires evaluating female sexual functioning (Female Sexual Function Index – FSFI) and the presence and severity of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition – BDI-II).
The total FSFI score was lower while the overall BDI-II score higher in women with vitamin D deficiency, but not in women with vitamin D insufficiency, than in healthy subjects. Compared to women with normal vitamin D status, women with vitamin D deficiency were characterized by lower scores for three domains: sexual desire, orgasm and satisfaction, while women with vitamin D insufficiency were characterized by a lower score only for desire. Desire and in women with vitamin D deficiency also orgasm, sexual satisfaction and the overall FSFI score negatively correlated with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.
The obtained results indicate that low vitamin D status is associated with abnormal female sexual functioning, the severity of which depends on the degree of vitamin D deficiency.