The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Adult Female Sexual Function and Sexual Distress: A Systematic Review and Meta- Analysis

OBJECTIVE

In this study, it was aimed to examine the impacts of exposure to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on women's sexual function and sexual distress.

METHOD

In this systematic review and meta-analysis study, eight international (EBSCO, Psyc-Info, Proquest, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Ovid, Web of Science) and two national electronic databases (Dergipark and Thesis Database of the Turkish Council of Higher Education) were searched. Studies reporting outcomes of sexual function and sexual distress in women with and without a history of CSA were included. The data were synthesized by meta-analysis and narrative methods.

RESULTS

Two dissertations and five research articles published between 2010 and 2021 were included in the study. In some studies that were not included in the meta-analysis, it was reported that there was no difference in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction, and sexual satisfaction in women with and without a history of CSA. Meta-analysis results demonstrated lower sexual function (sexual arousal, MD: -0.83, p<0.001; sexual desire, MD: -0.55, p<0.001; lubrication, MD: -0.78, p<0.01; pain, MD: -0.52, p<0.001) and more sexual distress (SMD: -0.79, p<0.05) in women with CSA history.

CONCLUSION

This study showed that CSA negatively affects female sexual function and increases sexual distress. Healthcare professionals should be aware that women with a CSA history may have worse sexual functions and more sexual distress. More research is needed on the role of CSA in the etiology of sexual function problems and its possible mechanisms of action.

Development and psychometric properties of the Respectful Maternity Care Scale (RMCS)

AIMS/BACKGROUND

The Respectful Maternity Care Scale (RMCS) was developed specifically to assess the health care that women receive during pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the RMCS.

DESIGN/METHODS

This study used a methodological design. The RMCS, a self-report instrument, was developed in consultation with professionals and women who had given birth, based on the literature. It was tested for content and construct validity. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, test-retest method, and adjusted item-total correlation. The study sample consisted of 405 women between 6 weeks and 12 months postpartum who were admitted to a family health centre in Istanbul between April and June 2023.

RESULTS

The scale's content validity index is 0.92. The scale consists of 29 items and 3 sub-dimensions, which explain 61% of the total variance. χ2/df was less than 5 and RMSEA was less than 0.08, which confirms the validity of this model. The corrected item-total correlations were acceptable, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.96.

CONCLUSION

The RMCS has been shown to be valid and reliable and can be used to assess respectful maternity care among Turkish women.

Relationship between menopausal symptoms and sleep quality in women during the climacteric period: a cross-sectional study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the menopausal symptoms and sleep quality in women in the climacteric period. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 383 women aged 40-64 years at the Cancer Early Diagnosis Screening and Training Centre. The data were collected with the questionnaire form, Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The sleep quality was poor in 77.8% of the women in the study. A significant relationship was found between PSQI scores and the somatic and psychological subscale scores of the MRS in the presence of other variables that could affect sleep according to multiple linear regression analysis (p < .05). We recommend training and consulting services provided by health care professionals and further experimental studies on the subject to decrease the negative effects of the somatic and psychological symptoms found to worsen sleep quality in women in the climacteric period.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? Sleep problems are a common health problem in women in the climacteric period.What do the results of this study add? The most common menopausal symptoms were joint and muscle problems, physical and emotional fatigue, nervousness, hot flushes, unhappiness, anxiety, and sleep problems in order of frequency. There was a weak positive significant relationship between the total PSQI score and the psychological and urogenital subscale scores of the MRS, in addition to a moderate positive significant relationship between the total PSQI scores and the total and somatic subscale scores of the MRS.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? We believe effective management of the somatic and psychological symptoms during the climacteric period with health care staff providing training and consultancy services to the women aimed at decreasing the symptoms according to evidence-based procedures could help improve the sleep quality. Conducting multicenter studies with a larger subject group where the effect of menopausal symptoms on sleep quality in addition to that of multifactorial causes are evaluated in depth is recommended.

The breastfeeding experiences of COVID-19-positive women: A qualitative study in Turkey

Aim

The aim of the study was to determine the breastfeeding experiences of COVID‐19‐positive women.

Methods

This was a qualitative study of 14 women diagnosed with COVID‐19. One‐to‐one telephone interviews were conducted and recorded. The data were analyzed thematically.

Results

Three main themes were identified. Theme 1 was “increased emotional load,” outlining the emotional effects of the disease in the women, such as feeling sad and inadequate, in addition to anxiety and fear. Theme 2 was “breastfeeding during the disease,” which illustrated the effects of the treatment process on the women, the disease‐related symptoms, their influence on breastfeeding attitudes and behavior, and the effects of social media and television. Theme 3 was “perceived social support and need,” defining the social support perceived and expected by the women during isolation with needs.

Conclusion

Women who could not get the professional support they expected had to face the difficult choice between taking medical treatment and breastfeeding. Many women refused drug treatment for COVID‐19 and continued to breastfeed with all the resultant emotional and physical difficulties, as they believed in the benefits of mother's milk. The experiences of the women were discussed with an approach that enabled developing health care services further. It was concluded that Turkish health care professionals need to develop an evidence‐based and female‐centered approach for COVID‐19 management in breastfeeding women.

Noncyclical and cyclical mastalgia in Turkish women: Prevalans, risk factors, health-care seeking and quality of life

Our aim in this study was to determine the prevalence of cyclical and noncyclical mastalgia, its underlying risk factors, and to examine its effect on women's quality of life. This study was conducted on 415 women, among whom the prevalence of mastalgia was found as 20.7%. It was found that experiencing intense stress, daily coffee and chocolate consumption, breast surgery history and the menstruation pattern were risk factors associated with mastalgia. Some domains of quality of life were found to be negatively affected in women who had mastalgia. Awareness among women about the risk factors of mastodynia and lifestyle changes is needed to improve mastalgia management.

Effect of lifestyle interventions of pregnant women on their dietary habits, lifestyle behaviors, and weight gain: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Although it is known that lifestyle behaviors of pregnant women are closely related to maternal and fetal health, number of data concerning efficacy of intervention on lifestyle during pregnancy is limited. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of lifestyle interventions on improving dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors, ensuring gestational weight gain (GWG) within recommended levels and limiting postpartum weight retention (PWR).

METHODS

The study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial in a family health center located in Istanbul, Turkey, between June 2011 and July 2012. The primary outcomes were GWG, and the proportion of pregnant women whose GWG was within the Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines. One hundred two pregnant women with gestation ≤12 weeks, age ≥18 years, gravidity ≤2, and who did not intend to lose weight in prepregnancy period were randomly included in this study as intervention (n = 51) and control (n = 51) groups. The study was completed with 45 women for each group. The control group received routine antenatal care. The intervention group was received an individualized lifestyle intervention focusing on healthy lifestyle, diet, exercise, and weight monitoring as four sessions at 12-15, 16-18, 20-24, and 37 weeks gestation. Lifestyle behaviors were evaluated with Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II. Dietary habits were assessed by 3-day dietary recalls, and weight was followed from pregnancy until 6 weeks postpartum.

RESULTS

The lifestyle interventions had a significant effect on improving lifestyle behaviors, protein intake, percentage of energy from protein, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and vegetable intakes when adjusted for confounders (p < 0.05). The proportion of women who were within the IOM recommendations was higher in the intervention group (51.1 %) than in the control group (28.9 %) The odds ratio for GWG within IOM was statistically significant between the groups (OR = 0.59, 95 % CI, 0.45-0.72). There were no difference between groups in terms of the other dietary intakes, total GWG, and PWR (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Lifestyle intervention improves the lifestyle behaviors during pregnancy and increases the appropriate GWG for prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), but it has a limited effect in terms of improving dietary habits and has no effect on PWR.

The Relationship of Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms with Menstrual Attitude and Sleep Quality in Turkish Nursing Student

INTRODUCTION

Symptoms induced by premenstrual syndrome (PMS) adversely affect the women in reproduction period and decrease their quality of life. In literature, it is a common opinion thought that PMS could be associated with both sleep quality and menstrual attitudes. However, there has been no sufficient number of studies to define in what ways the PMS symptoms are correlated with sleep quality and menstrual attitudes. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of PMS symptoms with menstrual attitude and sleep quality.

METHODS

The data were collected from 183 nursing students at Health School of Artvin Çoruh University by using a correlational design. Voluntary students completed a questionnaire involving socio-demographic characteristics, Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS), Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

RESULTS

Average age was 19.9 (1.8). The study determined a positively significant correlation between score of PMSS and mean scores of PSQI (r=0.306; P<0.001), and a negatively significant correlation between score of PMSS and total mean score of MAQ (r=-0.317; P<0.01). Similarly, multiple linear regression analysis showed that PSQI total score (β=5.412; P<0.001) and MAQ total score (β=-27.455; P=0.001) significantly affected total score of PMSS.

CONCLUSION

The intensity of PMS symptoms is associated with poor sleep quality and negative menstrual attitudes. Determining the methods of coping with PMS and strengthening the young girls on this subject may enhance their quality of future life.