Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women Who Live With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An Integrative Review.
Kate O'Reilly, Susan McInnes, Eleanor Holroyd and 1 others
PMID 40579754WHAT IT FOUND
Women with inflammatory bowel disease often had sexual difficulties and poor reproductive knowledge, yet many wanted clinicians to start conversations about sexual and reproductive health.
Key findings
01Women with active IBD reported more lubrication problems and more painful intercourse than women in remission or controls.
02In one included study, reproductive topics were discussed with 20% or less of women participants.
03Women expected clinicians to initiate relevant reproductive health discussions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a review of observational studies, not a trial of a treatment. No review protocol was registered. The search was limited to English-language papers, which may narrow the cultural perspective. The included studies used different questionnaires, samples and disease groups, so the review cannot give a single reliable prevalence. Some included studies did not account for confounders, and a qualitative paper did not describe its qualitative approach.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The funder named was Western Sydney University.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as proof that asking about sexual and reproductive health improves outcomes. It reports women's experiences and counselling gaps, not tested interventions.