ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: As part of preparation for a Swedish multicentre study, exploring sexual and married life in patients with myocardial infarction and their partners, a Swedish validated instrument was required. AIMS: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a Swedish version of the Watts Sexual Function Questionnaire (WSFQ) among persons with a heart disease. METHODS: A convenience sample of 79 persons (47 men and 32 women) living with a heart disease was recruited from the members of the National Association of Heart and Lung Patients. They completed a Swedish version of the WSFQ on two occasions. RESULTS: Two separate factor analyses each revealed a two-factor structure on both occasions: "Sexual appetite" and "Sexual expectations" with gender-neutral questions and "Sexual sensitiveness" and "Sexual ability" with gender-specific questions. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.48 to 0.86 and test-retest values for all but one question exceeded 0.70. CONCLUSIONS: The Swedish version of the WSFQ showed good validity and stability and acceptable internal homogeneity. Extended evaluations of the questionnaire are recommended.
Subject(s)
Heart Diseases , Sexual Behavior , Surveys and Questionnaires , Arousal/physiology , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Female , Heart Diseases/physiopathology , Heart Diseases/psychology , Humans , Male , Penile Erection/physiology , Pilot Projects , Psychometrics , Quality of Life , SwedenABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The initiation of insulin therapy may be easy and uncomplicated in some patients with type 2 diabetes, but in others, mainly in obese patients, problems often arise (ie, poor compliance, worsening B-cell function and/or insulin resistance). METHODS: As a substudy of a broader investigation concerning hemorheological effects of insulin treatment in insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes, blood pressure was recorded in 12 patients at baseline, after two months and after four months on insulin. RESULTS: After two months on insulin, analyses of triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol indicated metabolic improvement (P<0.05 to 0.001) and a surprisingly uniform increase of blood pressure values (P<0.05 to 0.01) was found. At the same time, the serum sodium concentration increased (P<0.01) and was positively correlated to both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P<0.01). After four months on insulin, blood pressure returned to pretreatment values or lower (P<0.05 to 0.01). Serum sodium also decreased to pretreatment values. No significant changes of the flow behaviour of blood were seen after the initiation of insulin. CONCLUSIONS: The number of patients was small and the study was not primarily designed to examine blood pressure. The preliminary conclusion from the present study, however, is that the initiation of insulin treatment in poorly controlled type 2 diabetes causes a temporary and possibly clinically significant elevation of blood pressure. A change in renal treatment of sodium caused by insulin may be one of several possible explanations of the results, but further studies are warranted to confirm the findings.
