Premature Ejaculation Results in Female Sexual Distress: Standardization and Validation of a New Diagnostic Tool for Sexual Distress

PurposeWe measured premature ejaculation related female sexual distress using a new diagnostic tool, the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised-Premature Ejaculation questionnaire.Materials and MethodsIn this large-scale, Internet based population study we evaluated 2,109 women in a stable relationship during the last 6 months. The 1,361 women in the premature ejaculation group had no female sexual disorder but the partner had premature ejaculation alone. The 748 controls had no female sexual disorder and a partner without premature ejaculation. We determined questionnaire content and discriminant validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Multivariate logistic regression with propensity score reweighting was done to determine the clinical impact of demographics on the perception of sexual distress.ResultsThe questionnaire was well understood. Internal consistency was greater than 0.90 and 0.84 in the premature ejaculation and control groups, respectively. Test-retest reliability was 0.82 (95% CI 0.72–0.87) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.79–0.92) in the premature ejaculation and control groups, respectively. The questionnaire had a high AUC of 0.90 (95% CI 0.89–0.91). The new cutoff score of 12 or greater had 79.1% sensitivity (95% CI 73.8–82.5), 99.5% specificity (95% CI 98.0–100.0), 99.3% positive predictive value (95% CI 98.7–100.0) and 67.9% negative predictive value (95% CI 64.2–73.2). Median questionnaire scores were significantly higher in the premature ejaculation group than in controls (20, 95% CI 19–21 vs 6, 95% CI 6–7, p <0.0001). Logistic regression adjusted and unadjusted by propensity score indicated that women in the premature ejaculation group had a 7.12 (95% CI 5.98–10.14, p <0.0001) to 9.83 (95% CI 7.94–12.15) greater probability of sexual distress than controls.ConclusionsThe Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised-Premature Ejaculation questionnaire fulfills psychometric requirements for measuring sexual distress related to partner sexual dysfunction.