Sexual dysfunction in Chinese rural patients with schizophrenia

Sexual dysfunction is common in patients with schizophrenia, however it is poorly studied in China, especially in primary health care institutions in rural areas. We investigated the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its correlates including quality of life (QoL), in schizophrenia patients treated in primary care in a rural area in China. By using a random numbers table, 21 small town primary care service centers (from 63 totally) were selected in the study. Data of 720 community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia in rural area with diagnoses according to DSM -IV or ICD-10 were collected by interviews. Data on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics including sexual dysfunction and quality of life (QoL) were collected using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests, t-tests, U-tests, ANCOVA and multiple logistic regression as appropriate by SPSS 21.0.The level of significance was set at 0.05 (two-tailed). In this sample, sexual dysfunction was found in 71.3% of the whole sample, 82.7% of female patients and 64.5% of male patients. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that older age (OR = 1.06, P