Perceptions of female sexual health and sexual dysfunction in a cohort of urban professional women in Abuja, Nigeria

Context: Data on sexual health behaviors, and the prevalence and risk factors for female sexual dysfunction (FSD) are rare, particularly from sub‑Saharan Africa. Aims: This study was to briefly investigate the perceptions of a cohort of adult urban female professionals about female sexual health and sexual dysfunction awareness. Patients and Methods: Fifty female hospital staff attending an introductory seminar on FSD participated in this study by completing a 15‑item questionnaire on some aspects of female sexual health. Questions asked ranged from sexual activity in the preceding 6 months, menopausal status, if they thought they had sexual dysfunction to their willingness to discuss an FSD with a sexual health physician if they had access to one. Results: Over 50% (n=28) of the respondents had an idea about what FSD was before the survey. These respondents further defined FSD as either the inability of a female to respond to sex, a lack of urge to engage in sexual activities, or inability to attain orgasm. About half of the respondents (n=21) did not know that FSD could be managed; however, 70% of them felt comfortable with discussing FSD symptoms with a sexual health practitioner.76.9% of the respondents who thought they had symptoms of FSD in this series (n=10) were willing to see a sexual health expert if they had access to one. Conclusions: This study provides a brief insight into FSD awareness amongst apparently healthy female workers of a health care facility and the need for further community‑based studies on female sexual health issues in our society. Furthermore, it highlights the appropriateness of a comprehensive sexual medicine service in tertiary health care facilities in Nigeria for adequate screening and diagnosis of patients before appropriate treatment of FSD.Keywords: Female sexual dysfunction, female sexual health, perceptions, urban professional womenNigerian Journal of Clinical Practice •Jan-Mar 2012 • Vol 15 • Issue

Self-reported quality of life measures of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia on indwelling urethral cathetersMesures de la qualité de vie auto-administrée chez les patients avec hyperplasie prostatique bénigne avec sondes trans-urétrales à demeure

Objective: To evaluate the self-reported quality of life (QoL) measures of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who are managed temporarily with indwelling urethral catheters. Patients and Methods : Between February and April 2005, 40 consecutive patients with BPH (mean age: 69.5 years) on temporary indwelling catheters were asked to complete an eleven-item questionnaire in order to measure their self-reported physical and mental health status. Result: Eighty percent of the study population (n=32) did not feel more irritable than usual, 75% (n=30) had no feeling of worthlessness, 72.5% (n=29) had urethral pain which had little or no interference with their daily activities, 62.5% (n=25) still derived leisure from the things they used to enjoy, 60% (n=24) were much less interested in sex or had lost interest in sex completely, while 80% (n=32) felt that their quality of life was not impaired as a result of long-term catheterization. Conclusion: Generally, one would expect that people who are subjected to long-term indwelling catheterization would report a poor QoL However, the majority of our patients did not have the feeling that their QoL was significantly hampered by their obvious disease burden which was probably due to the fact that urinary catheter drainage relieved their lower urinary tract symptoms. Résumé Objectif: Évaluer la qualité de vie auto-administrée (QoL) mesurée chez les patients avec hyperplasie prostatique bénigne (BPH) qui sont traités temporairement avec les sondes trans-urétrales à demeure. Patients et méthodes: Entre février et avril 2005, 40 patients consécutifs avec BPH (âge moyen: 69.5 ans) avec sondes trans-urétrales à demeure temporaires ont rempli un questionnaire auto-administré de onze articles pour mesurer leur statut de santé physique et mentale. Résultats: Quatre-vingts pourcent de la population étudiée (n=32) n'avaient pas senti plus d'irritations qu'habituellement, 75% (n=30) n'avaient aucun sentiment d'inutilité, 72.5% (n=29) avaient des douleurs urétrales qui avaient peu ou aucun impact sur leurs activités journalières, 62.5% (n=25) ont gardé le plaisir des choses qu'ils aimaient, 60% (n=24) se sont intéressés beaucoup moins au sexe ou avaient complètement perdu l'intérêt dans le sexe, alors que 80% (n=32) notent que leur qualité de vie n'a pas été affaiblie suite au cathétérisme à long terme.Conclusion: Généralement, on s'attendrait que les gens qui sont soumis au cathétérisme trans-urétral à long terme rapporteraient un QoL pauvre. La majorité de nos patients n'avait pas la sensation que leur QoL s'était considérablement dégradée à cause de leur maladie et ceci est dû probablement au fait que la sonde urinaire a soulagé leurs symptômes du bas appareil urinaire. African Journal of Urology Vol. 12(1) 2006: 15-2

An evaluation of the informed consent process for elective surgery at a university hospital

No Abstract. Nigerian Journal of Medicine Vol. 15(3) July-September 2006: 281-28

A Rare Germline HOXB13 Variant Contributes to Risk of Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry.

A rare African ancestry-specific germline deletion variant in HOXB13 (X285K, rs77179853) was recently reported in Martinican men with early-onset prostate cancer. Given the role of HOXB13 germline variation in prostate cancer, we investigated the association between HOXB13 X285K and prostate cancer risk in a large sample of 22 361 African ancestry men, including 11 688 prostate cancer cases. The risk allele was present only in men of West African ancestry, with an allele frequency in men that ranged from 0.40% in Ghana and 0.31% in Nigeria to 0% in Uganda and South Africa, with a range of frequencies in men with admixed African ancestry from North America and Europe (0-0.26%). HOXB13 X285K was associated with 2.4-fold increased odds of prostate cancer (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5-3.9, p = 2 × 10-4), with greater risk observed for more aggressive and advanced disease (Gleason ≥8: odds ratio [OR] = 4.7, 95% CI = 2.3-9.5, p = 2 × 10-5; stage T3/T4: OR = 4.5, 95% CI = 2.0-10.0, p = 2 × 10-4; metastatic disease: OR = 5.1, 95% CI = 1.9-13.7, p = 0.001). We estimated that the allele arose in West Africa 1500-4600 yr ago. Further analysis is needed to understand how the HOXB13 X285K variant impacts the HOXB13 protein and function in the prostate. Understanding who carries this mutation may inform prostate cancer screening in men of West African ancestry. PATIENT SUMMARY: A rare African ancestry-specific germline deletion in HOXB13, found only in men of West African ancestry, was reported to be associated with an increased risk of overall and advanced prostate cancer. Understanding who carries this mutation may help inform screening for prostate cancer in men of West African ancestry

Evidence of Novel Susceptibility Variants for Prostate Cancer and a Multiancestry Polygenic Risk Score Associated with Aggressive Disease in Men of African Ancestry.

BACKGROUND: Genetic factors play an important role in prostate cancer (PCa) susceptibility. OBJECTIVE: To discover common genetic variants contributing to the risk of PCa in men of African ancestry. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a meta-analysis of ten genome-wide association studies consisting of 19378 cases and 61620 controls of African ancestry. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Common genotyped and imputed variants were tested for their association with PCa risk. Novel susceptibility loci were identified and incorporated into a multiancestry polygenic risk score (PRS). The PRS was evaluated for associations with PCa risk and disease aggressiveness. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Nine novel susceptibility loci for PCa were identified, of which seven were only found or substantially more common in men of African ancestry, including an African-specific stop-gain variant in the prostate-specific gene anoctamin 7 (ANO7). A multiancestry PRS of 278 risk variants conferred strong associations with PCa risk in African ancestry studies (odds ratios [ORs] >3 and >5 for men in the top PRS decile and percentile, respectively). More importantly, compared with men in the 40-60% PRS category, men in the top PRS decile had a significantly higher risk of aggressive PCa (OR = 1.23, 95% confidence interval = 1.10-1.38, p = 4.4 × 10-4). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the importance of large-scale genetic studies in men of African ancestry for a better understanding of PCa susceptibility in this high-risk population and suggests a potential clinical utility of PRS in differentiating between the risks of developing aggressive and nonaggressive disease in men of African ancestry. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this large genetic study in men of African ancestry, we discovered nine novel prostate cancer (PCa) risk variants. We also showed that a multiancestry polygenic risk score was effective in stratifying PCa risk, and was able to differentiate risk of aggressive and nonaggressive disease

Characterizing prostate cancer risk through multi-ancestry genome-wide discovery of 187 novel risk variants

The transferability and clinical value of genetic risk scores (GRSs) across populations remain limited due to an imbalance in genetic studies across ancestrally diverse populations. Here we conducted a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of 156,319 prostate cancer cases and 788,443 controls of European, African, Asian and Hispanic men, reflecting a 57% increase in the number of non-European cases over previous prostate cancer genome-wide association studies. We identified 187 novel risk variants for prostate cancer, increasing the total number of risk variants to 451. An externally replicated multi-ancestry GRS was associated with risk that ranged from 1.8 (per standard deviation) in African ancestry men to 2.2 in European ancestry men. The GRS was associated with a greater risk of aggressive versus non-aggressive disease in men of African ancestry (P = 0.03). Our study presents novel prostate cancer susceptibility loci and a GRS with effective risk stratification across ancestry groups