ABSTRACT
The existing literature supports an association between menopause and sexual dysfunction. However, not all menopausal women will experience sex-related problems. The manner in which a woman responds to changes brought about by menopause depends largely upon her individual psychic makeup and sociocultural factors.22 Psychoanalytic reports have remarked that some women must properly mourn the loss of reproductive capacity to move forward successfully in their postmenopausal life.22 The menopausal transition is a time of dramatic biologic change and, for many women, psychologic vulnerability. Depressive symptoms have been reported to increase significantly during the transition into menopause.48 It is important to acknowledge these phenomena when considering sexuality in the aging female because depression as well as medications for depression can lead to sexual dysfunction.
