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The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the 6-item female sexual function index (FSFI-6) and the relationship between climacturia and female sexual dysfunction

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 34, pages 610–613 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the FSFI-6 questionnaire,an abbreviated version of FSFI-19,a common tool for evaluating female sexual function. The study included 120 female patients aged between 18–65 years who presented to the urology clinic between December 2019 and March 2020. The Turkish version of FSFI-6 was translated from the English version for validation. The abridged FSFI-6 questionnaire consists of questions 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, and 17 of the FSFI-19 form. We recorded the demographic data of the patients. All subjects filled out the FSFI-19 and FSFI-6 questionnaires. The patients were asked to fill out the questionnaires again after two weeks. The mean age of the subjects was 46.58 ± 9.89 years (28–63). The results of the reliability analysis indicated that the intraclass correlation coefficient of the total FSFI-6 score was 0.92 (weighted kappa coefficients of individual items, 0.868–0.975) and the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.862. The validity analysis indicated that the mean total FSFI-6 score was strongly correlated with the mean FSFI-19 score (p < 0.001, r = 0.997). In the test-retest analysis,the kappa coefficient was calculated as 0.891. The FSFI-19 and FSFI-6 scores of the patients with (n = 52) and without climacturia (n = 68) were compared, and it was observed that the scores of the patients with climacturia were significantly lower than those without climacturia (p < 0.001). The abbreviated FSFI-6 questionnaire is a valuable tool for screening women with FSD. It can be used more extensively due to being short and easy to apply. Our results approve the Turkish version of the questionnaire as a valid and reliable tool for evaluating FSD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Izmir Katip Çelebi University Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Adil Emrah Sonbahar

  2. Department of Urology, University of Health Sciences, Prof. Dr. Cemil Tascioglu City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mehmet Gokhan Culha

  3. School of Sexology, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Emmanuele Jannini

Authors
  1. Adil Emrah Sonbahar
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  2. Mehmet Gokhan Culha
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  3. Emmanuele Jannini
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AES: Project development, data collection, paper writing. MGC: Project development, paper writing. EJ: Supervisor.

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Correspondence to Mehmet Gokhan Culha.

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Sonbahar, A.E., Culha, M.G. & Jannini, E. The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the 6-item female sexual function index (FSFI-6) and the relationship between climacturia and female sexual dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 34, 610–613 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-021-00463-2

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