Sexual and Reproductive Health Assessment in a Group of Female Renal Transplant Recipients.

Background: Fertility and sexual health are impaired in individuals with chronic kidney disease and can be restored after a successful renal transplant. This is a single-center prospective study about the sexual and reproductive health (including contraceptive methods and gynecologic cancer screening) in renal transplant recipients.
Methods: Female renal transplant recipients, aged 18 to 49 years at transplant, were interviewed about their gynecologic history, sexual health, and use of contraceptive methods.
Results: Ninety-one patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The majority of women maintained menstrual cycles during dialysis therapy, being almost 60% of the women in an irregular rhythm. Pregnancies were reported for 51 women, 20% after transplant, and associated with low-weight newborns. The incidence of spontaneous abortion was 12.5%. Thirty-one patients were denied contraceptive methods due to the vasectomy of the partner (n = 16) or the belief that they would not become pregnant (n = 15). The most common contraceptive method was a condom, and the use of an intrauterine device was rare. Gynecologic assessment and cancer screening were out-of-date in almost one-third of patients.
Conclusions: In this study, the majority of women were from low-income areas and had low levels of education. Despite access to public universal health care, adherence to yearly screening tests and use of contraceptive methods were lower than expected.
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