PTSD may negatively affect sex life satisfaction in male and female veterans

New research reveals that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was a strong, negative predictor of sexual satisfaction in both male and female veterans who returned from warzones in recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

For the Journal of Traumatic Stress study, investigators assessed 1581 males and females from the Veterans After-Discharge Longitudinal Registry (VALOR), a gender-balanced registry of VA healthcare-seeking veterans with and without PTSD.

Sexual activity rates were similarly high in male veterans with and without a PTSD diagnosis, whereas PTSD status was negatively associated with sexual activity rates in female veterans.

"Future analysis in the longitudinal cohort of the VALOR registry is uniquely suited to answer questions regarding the influence of PTSD treatment on sexual dysfunction, activity and satisfaction," the authors wrote.