Sexual Health in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract including Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease which have been shown to have a significant impact on health-related quality of life due to gastrointestinal symptoms but also extra-intestinal manifestations and huge psychological impact. The disease causes impairment of intimate relationships in up to 40% of patients, which shows that sexual dysfunction is a common problem in these patients. Mechanisms underlining this situation are not completely understood but are probably related to inflammatory bowel disease factors, psychological effects of the disease, and the consequences of the treatments used among others. Despite patients feel that the impact of their intestinal disease in their sexual life is a problem that needs to be assessed, from a medical viewpoint represents a misdiagnosed situation without clear guidelines recommendations about how to address and treat it.