Objective: To determine the relationship between female body image and female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in young patients (20-40 years) with postoperative breast cancer.
Methods: Using the convenient sampling method, we identified 276 young patients with postoperative breast cancer from June 2017 to 2019 in the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University to be included in the study. A general situation questionnaire for body image scale (BIS) and female sexual function index (FSFI) scale was used to evaluate the correlation between body image level and the prevalence of FSD in young patients with postoperative breast cancer.
Results: The total score for BIS was 10.98 ± 7.19, indicating that patients were moderately dissatisfied with their body image The total prevalence of FSD was 63.41%. Pearson correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between the total score, each dimension score of BIS, total FSD, and the incidence of each dimension disorder (range, r: -0.414 to -0.717, all P values <0.05).
Conclusion: There is a negative correlation between the body image level and the prevalence of FSD in young patients with postoperative breast cancer. This suggests that clinical medical workers should develop an intervention plan to improve the body image level of postoperative young breast cancer patients according to the unique physiological and psychological characteristics of these patients while also reducing the prevalence of FSD.
Keywords: Body image; correlation; female sexual dysfunction; postoperative breast cancer.