ORIGINAL ARTICLE SEXUAL FUNCTION OF MALAY WOMEN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY Sazlina Kamaralzaman*, Hatta Sidi **, Matthew Yau***, Siti Balkis Budin*, Anuar Sani****, Jamaludin Mohamed* *Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kampus Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; **Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; *** School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine & Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia****Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Nilai, Malaysia. Abstract Objective: Female sexual dysfunction is a known complication of diabetes mellitus. The aims of this study is to estimate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and the types of sexual dysfunction experienced by Malay women with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Cross sectional study was conducted on married Malay women with type 2 diabetes mellitus, receiving treatment from two community clinics in Selangor, Malaysia. Female sexual function was assessed using Malay version of Female Sexual Function Index. Results: This study found that sexual dysfunction was present among 18.2% women. Lack of libido was the commonest symptom among these women and was observed in 40.9% of women followed by sexual dissatisfaction (36.4%). Sexual arousal disorder was observed in 22.7%, 18.2% complained of lack of lubrication, and 22.7% had vaginal discomfort. Orgasmic dysfunction was found in only 4.5% of these women. Conclusion: This preliminary research showed sexual desire disorder was the commonest type of sexual disorder among diabetic women. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 11(1): Jan – June 2010: XX XX. Keywords: Female sexual function, Diabetes Mellitus, Malay women Introduction Sexual dysfunction in women is common and may affect 30-70% of women leading to personal distress [1]. In Malaysia, a study found that about 29% of women may experience one or more types of sexual dysfunction [2]. Another research by Sidi and colleague [3] found that most women in Malaysia conformed to Basson’s circular model of female sexual response. These interesting findings demand further SEXUAL FUNCTION OF MALAY WOMEN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 11(1): Jan – June 2010: XX XX 1