Human Seminal Plasma Allergy: Quality of Life

Plain-language summary

Human Seminal Plasma Allergy (HSPA) is a rare allergy with localized and/or generalized manifestations following exposure during unprotected sex. Its cause remains undetermined and is certainly underdiagnosed. It is an under-recognized cause of acute or chronic pain related to penetration and vaginal inflammation affecting sexually active women. To date, no quality-of-life questionnaire specific to this condition exists to demonstrate its impact on the physical, mental, and sexual health of patients. To try to highlight the suffering of these patients, non-specific sexual quality-of-life questionnaires exist and could be used, such as the "Female Sexual Function Index" (including questions on desire, arousal, and the ability to reach orgasm), but these do not address the sexual impact of psychological distress related to any pathology and do not assess the impact of HSPA-specific symptoms on sexuality. The symptoms of endometriosis can be compared to those of patients with HSPA due to chronic abdominopelvic pain that worsens during sexual intercourse, the psychological impact, and the potential effect on fertility. A specific questionnaire exists for patients with endometriosis that documents these commonalities: the EHP-30. It is recognized as a specific and sensitive tool for measuring the quality of life of women with endometriosis in routine clinical practice. However, the EHP-30 questionnaire focuses on symptoms that are often chronic and persistent, even outside of sexual intercourse, whereas HSPA is characterized by acute episodes, sometimes spaced out and dependent on exposure to seminal fluid, making the tool less relevant for assessing the quality of life of patients with HSPA. This study aims to evaluate and compare the measurement of quality of life in patients with HSPA using these different tools and a specific general question in order to describe quality of life in this population. This will also provide evidence to question the value of creating a questionnaire specific to the pathology.

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