A Healthy Sex-Life Is The Key To General Wellbeing

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Conferences
Article Date: 28 Nov 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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The 10th edition of the European Society of Sexual Medicine's annual congress takes place in Lisbon this week, and will play an important role in raising the profile of sexual heath issues as a key component of general health and wellbeing, an area of medicine that is of importance to all health professionals. In this holistic approach, the congress will also tackle several issues of female sexual health, heretofore largely ignored.

Connecting sexual and general health issues

The correlation between patients' sexual health and their general physical condition is too often ignored, with sexual health often treated in isolation. Despite the huge developments in opening up ideas about sexuality, the issue of sexual health still remains somewhat taboo. Many men are still embarrassed about discussing erectile dysfunction or ejaculatory problems with their doctor, but even more worryingly, many general practioners will rarely ask their patients about their sexual health, despite the fact that sexual function and dysfunction are in fact directly related to many fields of medicine, either as a symptom or a component of conditions. Cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes are all related to sexual dysfunction, which often are an early-warning of the underlying condition. Up to 50% of diabetics suffer from sexual disorders, and erectile dysfunction can also be an early sign of depression.

Physicians must also be wary of how the medication they prescribe to treat chronic conditions can also impact negatively on their patients' sexual health. For example, the continuous administration of painkillers can reduce sex drive, and reduced sex drive, erectile functioning and orgasm are common side effects of antidepressant medication.

Functioning does not guarantee wellbeing

The impact of sexual dysfunction on quality of life has not received sufficient attention in the past, and studies are beginning to focus more on the impact of sexual dysfunction on the couple as an entity. Science increasingly recognises that the patient does not suffer alone, and the sexual wellbeing of their partners, who may otherwise suffer no problems in sexual functioning will also be adversely affected, and can even develop physiological and psychological problems of their own as a consequence. Indeed the psychology of sexual dysfunction represents an important issue in sexual health. Successfully treating the physiological symptoms may not always lead to an improved quality of life for the individual or their partner, and the conference will also look at psychology in examining how to go beyond merely restoring physiological function.

Women's sexuality has its own rules

Until very recently sexual health conferences dealt mainly with erectile dysfunction. Research in the area of female sexual dysfunctions is scarce if compared to that devoted to sexual dysfunctions in men, and fewer pharmacological therapeutic options exist in terms of women's sexual health. In many quarters the idea persists that only men suffer sexual problems. The sexual health practioners who gather in Lisbon this week know this to be incorrect, and the prejudice is becoming increasing unacceptable among the general public. The congress will serve to highlight some of the continuous efforts that are being made in research and development and that are already yielding promising results.

"We are delighted to host the 10th Congress of ESSM", said Nuno Monteiro Pereira, Chair of the 10th ESSM Congress. "This represents a unique opportunity to promote interdisciplinary collaboration between physicians from all over Europe that will allow all health practitioners, sexual health specialists and no, to better understand the importance of sexual health in overall wellbeing and in people's sense of themselves."

About the Congress

The European Society of Sexual Medicine was founded in 1995 with the purpose of promoting scientific progress, education and cooperation between professionals in the field of sexual medicine and currently embraces 20 national societies with more than 1,400 members. Taking place at the Lisbon Congress Center, the 10th Congress is being hosted by the Portuguese Society of Andrology and gathers some 2,000 experts from across the world. The congress adopts an interdisciplinary approach in addressing the psychological, social, cultural and biomedical factors in the promotion of sexual health, satisfaction and intimacy through a series of lectures, round tables, interactive sessions and video courses.

European Society of Sexual Medicine