Ethnic differences in dissatisfaction with sexual life in patients with type 2 diabetes in a Swedish town

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The first aim of this study was to analyze whether self-reported satisfaction with one's sexual life was associated with ethnicity (Swedish and Assyrian/Syrian) in patients with type 2 diabetes. The second was to study whether the association between satisfaction with one's sexual life and ethnicity remained after controlling for possible confounders such as marital status, HbA1c, medication, and presence of other diseases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted at four primary health care centers in the Swedish town of Södertälje. A total of 354 persons (173 ethnic Assyrians/Syrians and 181 ethnic Swedes) participated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The total prevalence of self-reported dissatisfaction with one's sexual life in both groups was 49%. No significant ethnic differences were found in the outcome. In the final model, regardless of ethnicity, the odds ratio (OR) for self-reported dissatisfaction with one's sexual life in those ≥ 70 years old was 2.52 (95% CI 1.33-4.80). Among those living alone or with children, the OR was more than three times higher than for married or cohabiting individuals (OR = 3.10, 95% CI 1.60-6.00). Those with other diseases had an OR 1.89 times (95% CI 1.10-3.40) higher than those without other diseases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings demonstrate that almost half of participants were dissatisfied with their sexual life and highlight the importance of sexual life to people with type 2 diabetes. This factor should not be ignored in clinical evaluations. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that it is possible to include questions on sexual life in investigations of patients with type 2 diabetes and even in other health-related, questionnaire studies, despite the sensitivity of the issue of sexuality.</p

Glucocorticoid increases glucose cycling and inhibits insulin release in pancreatic islets of ob/ob mice

Normoglycemic ob/ob mice were treated for 24 or 48 h with either 25 micrograms/day of dexamethasone or saline. After an overnight fast, the animals were killed and pancreatic islets were incubated with 3H2O or [U-14C]glucose or [5-3H]glucose at 5.5 and 16.7 mM glucose. Incorporation of 3H from 3H2O into carbon 2 of medium glucose and the yield of 14CO2 from [U-14C]glucose and 3H2O from [5-3H]glucose were measured. Dexamethasone treatment for 48 h significantly increased the rate of dephosphorylation of glucose in islets both at 5.5 mM (24 vs. 16%) and 16.7 mM (56 vs. 36%) glucose, whereas glucose oxidation and utilization were unaffected. Dexamethasone treatment also inhibited insulin release by approximately 60% at 5.5 and 16.7 mM glucose, either in the presence or absence of 10 mM arginine, but had no effect when insulin release was stimulated by 1 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. Moreover, 24-h treatment with dexamethasone significantly increased glucose cycling at low and high glucose concentrations in the medium and inhibited insulin responsiveness to glucose and arginine. In conclusion, short-term dexamethasone treatment increases glucose flux through glucose-6-phosphatase in islets from ob/ob mice. This effect may contribute to the decreased insulin response to glucose and arginine found in animals treated with dexamethasone