Sexual changes in hemiparetic patients

Eighty-six patients, each with hemiparesis caused by a single stroke, were studied to assess the changes in sexual life experienced after the onset of the illness. Clinical data were collected, and a questionnaire concerning both sexual behavior and feelings about sexuality was administered to the patients and their spouses. Twenty-four couples were eliminated from further analysis because of a discrepancy between husband and wife in the answers concerning sexual behavior after stroke. A marked decline in sexual activity after stroke was found in both genders; other aspects of sexual behavior underwent fewer changes. The felling of an overall change in sexual life was reported more frequently by male patients. Most patients' spouses reported the feeling of an overall psychological change in their partners and the feeling of an overall change in sexual life after the onset of the illness. No significant associations were found between clinical features and changes in sexual life. This study confirms that cerebrovascular accidents are generally followed by some important alterations in sexual life. Clinical factors do not seem to play a crucial role in determining these changes, which may be better explained in terms of maladjustment attributable to psychologic and interpersonal factors.