A virtual, group-based mindfulness intervention for midlife and older women with low libido lowers sexual distress in a randomized controlled pilot study
- PMID: 37353906
- PMCID: PMC10390320
- DOI: 10.1093/jsxmed/qdad081
A virtual, group-based mindfulness intervention for midlife and older women with low libido lowers sexual distress in a randomized controlled pilot study
Abstract
Background: Distressing low libido is common among women and has significant negative impacts; mindfulness has shown promise to increase sexual desire in women with low libido, but existing interventions are not tailored to midlife and older women.
Aim: We adapted a mindfulness intervention to meet the needs of this population and conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to assess feasibility and acceptability.
Methods: Women aged ≥45 years with low libido were randomized to the mindfulness intervention or an education group that met over videoconferencing. The intervention included mindfulness instruction and practice, group discussion, and education on sexuality and aging. The education group included general information on menopause and health.
Outcomes: We defined feasibility by the number of screened women who enrolled and completed their group. We defined acceptability as satisfaction with the group and likelihood of recommending it to another woman with low libido. We assessed sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index) and sexual distress (Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised) at 6 weeks postconclusion.
Results: Of 81 women screened, 31 were randomized to mindfulness and 30 to education. Eighteen women in the intervention group and 23 in the control group attended at least 1 session. Time conflict was the main reason for nonattendance. Of the 41 women who started attending groups, 37 (90%) attended at least 5 sessions. In the mindfulness group, 73% of women were very or extremely satisfied. Women in the mindfulness group were more likely to recommend it to another person with low libido as compared with those in the education group (P = .031); 67% said that they would probably or definitely recommend it. There were no significant changes in sexual function in either group (mean Female Sexual Function Index score, 22.6 to 18.6 [P = .101] with mindfulness and 21.2 to 19.7 [P = .537] with education). Women in the mindfulness group had significant improvements in sexual distress (mean Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised score, 27.1 to 19.7; P = .021) while women in the education group did not (19.0 to 15.8; P = .062).
Clinical implications: Mindfulness may reduce sexual distress in older women with low libido.
Strengths and limitations: This is the first trial testing mindfulness for midlife and older women with low libido.
Conclusion: A virtual mindfulness intervention for midlife and older women with low libido is feasible and acceptable and appears to improve sexual distress as compared with an education control; these findings provide data that can be used to design a larger clinical trial.
Keywords: aging; feasibility studies; libido; menopause; mindfulness; pilot projects; sexuality.
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society of Sexual Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Conflict of interest statement
None declared.
Figures
Similar articles
-
A Brief Online Mindfulness Intervention for Women's Sexual Desire: The BROWSE Study.J Sex Marital Ther. 2024;50(5):607-626. doi: 10.1080/0092623X.2024.2343286. Epub 2024 Apr 22. J Sex Marital Ther. 2024. PMID: 38650453 Review.
-
The feasibility and acceptability of Project POWER: a mindfulness-infused, cognitive-behavioral group intervention to address mental and sexual health needs of young pregnant women in Liberia.BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023 Mar 20;23(1):196. doi: 10.1186/s12884-023-05435-6. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023. PMID: 36941545 Free PMC article.
-
Feasibility of Mindful After Cancer: Pilot Study of a Virtual Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Sexual Health in Cancer Survivorship.J Sex Med. 2022 Jul;19(7):1131-1146. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2022.03.618. Epub 2022 May 4. J Sex Med. 2022. PMID: 35523716
-
Interventions to improve psychosocial well-being in female BRCA-mutation carriers following risk-reducing surgery.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Oct 9;10(10):CD012894. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012894.pub2. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019. PMID: 31595976 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Prevalence and Predictors of Low Sexual Desire, Sexually Related Personal Distress, and Hypoactive Sexual Desire Dysfunction in a Community-Based Sample of Midlife Women.J Sex Med. 2017 May;14(5):675-686. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.03.254. J Sex Med. 2017. PMID: 28499520
References
-
- American Psychiatric Association ed. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Miscellaneous