Rossi V., Tripodi F., NIMBI F.M., Simonelli C., Porpora M.G. (2018). Psychological functioning of vulvodynia and endometriosis patients: a comparative study. 14th Congress of the European Federation of Sexology

Objective: The DSM 5 category “Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration disorder” (GPPPD) collects clinical conditions characterized by different psychological profiles. Vulvodynia and endometriosis are diseases related to genital sexual pain whose etiologies is still unclear. The objective of the present study was to investigate the differences between vulvodynia and endometriosis patients in terms of psychological functioning. Design and Method: 32 women with genito-pelvic pain, 16 with vulvodynia (VG, mean age 31.75±6.92) and 16 with endometriosis (EG, mean age 31.25±6.38), were recruited at the Institute of Clinical Sexology and at the Gynecology-Obstetrics & Urology department of “Sapienza” University in Rome. Participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Results: VG achieved significant worse scores than EG in almost all domains: global severity index (t=-2.42; df=26; p<.05), depression (t=-2.37; df=24; p<.05), anxiety (t=-2.23; df=25; p<.05), paranoid ideation (t=-2.33; df=29; p<.05) and psychoticism (t=-2.58; df=29; p<.05). VG obtained clinical scores in all these areas, compared to EG who did not. Both groups got clinical scores in somatization, whereas VG achieved clinical scores also in obsessive compulsive and interpersonal sensitivity domains. Conclusions: Vulvodynia patients have a psychological functioning more impaired than endometriosis ones. Therefore, psychological factors may play an important role in vulvodynia, more than in endometriosis, or in other genito-pelvic pain diseases. Professionals should take into account the differences and the peculiarities of each genito-pelvic pain condition in order to improve the assessment and treatment process.