Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate mental health and quality of life (QoL) aspects in women operated on because of disorders of sexual differentiation (DSDs) in childhood.
Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 45 women older than 15 years who had been operated on because of DSD, of which 24 patients (53%) responded. Of these, 16 had been prenatally exposed to androgens. Eight females had 46,XY karyotype. Mental health was measured with the 90-item Symptom Checklist, QoL with the 20-item Life Situation Survey questionnaire, and health-related QoL (HRQoL) with the 15D questionnaire.
Results: The QoL and HRQoL scores appeared normal in most of the patients. Furthermore, mental health of the patients was similar or better compared with previously published scores of a Finnish community sample in all dimensions (somatization, obsessive compulsivity, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism). However, 5 patients had poorer scores in some of the 3 questionnaires. These 5 had either distressful memories because of a too-late operation, the operative treatment itself, or current poor sexual function.
Conclusions: The QoL, HRQoL, and overall mental health of female patients with DSD are usually normal.
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