Addressing sexual health in congenital heart disease: when being the same isn't the same. Congenit Heart Dis 2015;10(1):30-5
Date
02/14/2014Pubmed ID
24521242DOI
10.1111/chd.12168Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84922616882 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 10 CitationsAbstract
A larger number of individuals born with congenital heart disease is living into adolescence and young adulthood. With this comes the responsibility to counsel these patients regarding their sexual and reproductive health. This study utilizes representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to compare sexual measures including percentage of that sexually active, age of first sexual activity, number of sexual partners, condom use, and history of sexually transmitted diseases in those with and without congenital heart disease. A total of 1086 patients (1057 without congenital heart disease and 29 with congenital heart disease) were included in this study. Likelihood of being sexually active, age of first sexual intercourse, and condom use did not differ significantly between the two groups after multivariate analysis. Incidence of sexually transmitted disease did not differ between the two groups after multivariate analysis except for genital warts. There are no major differences in sexual measures between those with and without congenital heart disease. The absence of significant differences in sexual measures in those with congenital heart disease compared with the general population places this group of individuals at increased health risk known to occur with pregnancy.
Author List
Loomba RS, Aggarwal S, Pelech ANMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAge Factors
Aged
Condoms
Counseling
Female
Heart Defects, Congenital
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Nutrition Surveys
Reproductive Health
Safe Sex
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Partners
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Survivors
United States
