Diabetic sexual function variable

When diabetes affects the body over a sustained period of time it is possible for numerous complications to arise. These can include retinopathy, heart and kidney disease, gum disease and stroke . One complication, which recent research has highlighted, is that women suffering from type 1 diabetes have reduced sexual functioning and increased sexual distress at one time during their menstrual cycle.
The study was carried out by a team of Italian researchers at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan. It aimed to evaluate the endocrine profile and sexual function of 50 fertile females suffering from type 1 diabetes. They then compared these findings with those of 47 control subjects. The study was conducted between the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.
During the luteal phase it was found that diabetic women had less sexual function and increased sexual distress. This finding did not extend to the follicular phase however.
The study has important implications for the way in which diabetics are clinically assessed, the authors concluded.