(433) Exploratory Analysis of Women’s Perception of Flibanserin’s Impact on Their Relationship with Their Partner
Authors: Javaid S , Chelliah J 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

Introduction
Most women suffering from HSDD are married or living with a partner. A market research survey of women with self-described low sexual desire and related distress assessed women's attitudes to their low sexual desire and how they perceived their condition impacted their relationship with their partner. Most women responded that they believed their condition negatively impacted some aspect of their relationship with their partner. Flibanserin is approved to treat premenopausal women suffering from HSDD. However, there is limited data on the impact of treatment on partner relationships. This exploratory retrospective analysis was conducted to bridge this knowledge gap.

Objective
The primary aim of this analysis was to explore if women with HSDD treated with flibanserin perceived changes in their relationship with their partners.

Methods
Eligible patient and clinician free-text encounter notes (notes) served as the primary data source for this analysis. Eligibility criteria include female, ≥18 years, seen at the clinic between September 1, 2015, and August 31, 2020, a confirmed diagnosis of HSDD or low libido (R68.82 or F52.0), prescribed ≥1 flibanserin prescription through the clinic's electronic health record (EHR) and ≥1 note documenting flibanserin usage. Data were deidentified and extracted from the clinic’s EHR and downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet. The key search terms “partner”, “spouse”, “husband”, “marriage” and “relationship” were used to identify relevant notes. Flibanserin usage dates were compared to relevant note dates to ensure they coincided.

Results
Over the 5-years study period, 146 women were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. Key search terms were identified in notes of fifteen (10%) women, all with documented positive HSDD treatment responses. Fourteen women had ≥ 1 relevant note that included ≥ 1 perceived positive relationship change, and one woman stated that “flibanserin helped her realize she was not the problem in her relationship". Seven (50%) women with positive changes were premenopausal, 7 (50%) were postmenopausal, and eleven (76%) were on concomitant sexual health-related medications, most notably intravaginal prasterone and testosterone. Positive relationship changes documented during treatment included: partner noticed an improvement in libido (n=5), a happier partner (n=4), more intimate with partner (n=2), better communication in the relationship (n=2), better mood with partner (n=1), partner noticed improvements in premenstrual syndrome (n=1), “now in couples therapy and much better” (n=1). Six (43%) women with positive notes reported ≥1 AE. Five women reported AEs related to CNS depression, and one woman experienced anxiety and depression. These AEs are consistent with those observed among all women treated with flibanserin at the clinic.

Conclusions
Relationships are complex and subject to multiple personal and interpersonal variables. Therefore, the changes reported here may not be related to flibanserin alone. However, our findings suggest that in some women who experience HSDD treatment benefits, flibanserin may also positively impact their relationship with their partner. Although informative, more extensive studies that consider couple's counseling, concomitant medications, and validated relationship satisfaction surveys are needed to verify these finding.

Disclosure
No