Breast cancer survivorship and sexual dysfunction: a population-based cohort study

Background Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in women and an increasing number of people are living as breast cancer survivors. While the prognosis of breast cancer continues to improve, the rates of sexual dysfunction and the risk related to cancer treatments have not been well characterized in a population-based study. Methods We identified a cohort of 19,709 breast cancer survivors diagnosed between 1997 and 2017 from the Utah Cancer Registry, and 93,389 cancer-free women who were matched by age and birth state from the Utah Population Database. Sexual dysfunction diagnoses were identified through ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes from electronic medical records and statewide healthcare facilities data. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios for risk of sexual dysfunction. Results Breast cancer survivors were at higher risk of sexual dysfunction diagnosis (9.1% versus 6.9%, HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.51–1.70) compared to the general population. This risk increased 2.05-fold within 1 to 5 years after cancer diagnosis (95% CI 1.89–2.22) and 3.05-fold in individuals diagnosed with cancer at