The Impact of Hidradenitis Suppurativa on Sexual Health: A Systematic Review
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that significantly impacts patients’ quality of life, particularly in relation to sexual health. Sexual dysfunction and erectile dysfunction are frequently reported among individuals with HS. However, the relationship between disease severity and sexual health outcomes remains unclear. This systematic review aims to explore the impact of HS on sexual dysfunction in both males and females, examining the physical and psychological factors involved. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Medline (OVID), and Web of Science using keywords related to HS and sexual health, including “sexual dysfunction,” “sexual desire,” “erectile dysfunction,” “impotence,” and “infertility.” Studies were screened for relevance, and those that examined sexual health outcomes in HS patients were included. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed qualitatively due to the heterogeneity of the outcome measures. Nonrandomized studies were evaluated using the Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale to assess methodological quality. Results: The review found that sexual dysfunction was prevalent in HS patients, with rates ranging from 42% to 71.8%. Female patients consistently reported higher levels of sexual distress, while male patients experienced erectile dysfunction at significant rates, as measured by the FSFI and IIEF. Importantly, worsening disease severity did not consistently correlate with increased sexual dysfunction, suggesting that factors such as pain, odor, and psychological distress may have a greater influence. Conclusion: This review demonstrates that HS significantly impacts sexual health, though the severity of HS does not always correlate with worsening sexual dysfunction. Psychological factors, pain, and genital involvement appear to play a more prominent role. Future research should focus on addressing both the psychological and physical aspects of sexual dysfunction in HS patients and explore the underlying mechanisms linking HS to infertility.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.006 | 0.030 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.007 | 0.007 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.007 | 0.009 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.003 | 0.002 |
| Open science | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.004 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".