10 A possible role of antiretroviral

drugs in causing sexual dysfunction has been a matter of debate. While some studies have suggested that antiretroviral therapy (ART) indeed plays a role in sexual function, others have failed to find any such association.11 The majority of studies on dyspareunia have failed to deal with factors associated with HIV infection, a topic yet to be fully Erlotinib mw investigated in HIV-positive women during the ageing process. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to evaluate whether dyspareunia is associated with HIV status in middle-aged women and to assess the factors associated with dyspareunia in HIV-positive middle-aged women. Methods Study design A cross-sectional study was conducted in 537 women aged 40–60 years, of whom 273 were HIV-positive and 264 were HIV-negative

and screened for inclusion. Patients were recruited at the infectious diseases and HIV outpatient clinics (HIV-positive women) and at the menopausal ambulatory care (HIV-negative women), both at the Teaching Hospital of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP). Patients were also invited to participate at the infectious diseases outpatient public clinic (HIV-positive women) in Belo Horizonte. Of these, 178 HIV-negative women and 128 HIV-positive women had had vaginal intercourse in the previous month and were willing to answer a questionnaire on dyspareunia. These women were then admitted to the study. For inclusion in the HIV-positive group, laboratory confirmation of the women’s seropositive status by one of the recommended tests (ELISA or Western Blot) was required (all of them had it), while

the women recruited to the HIV-negative group had to have tested negative. The blood sample tests of HIV-negative and HIV-positive women were collected at the moment of admission in this study (follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH) and thyroid stimulating hormone for all; ELISA or Western Blot HIV tests for HIV-negative women; Brefeldin_A and Viral load and CD4 cells for HIV-positive women). Exclusion criteria consisted of nursing mothers, bilaterally oophorectomised women and those unable to answer the questionnaire. The evaluation instrument was the Short Personal Experiences Questionnaire (SPEQ).12 13 Sociodemographic, clinical, behavioural and reproductive characteristics were assessed as well as issues relating to the HIV infection and partner-related factors. Dependent variable The dependent variable dyspareunia, defined as pain during sexual intercourse, was graded from 1 to 6, where 1 referred to the absence of pain and 6 to maximum pain. A score of less than two was considered to represent the absence of dyspareunia and a score of two or more to represent the presence of dyspareunia.