1 3 Arch Gynecol Obstet (2014) 290:93–98 DOI 10.1007/s00404-014-3168-x GENERAL GYNECOLOGY Apple consumption is related to better sexual quality of life in young women Tommaso Cai · Mauro Gacci · Fulvio Mattivi · Nicola Mondaini · Serena Migno · Vieri Boddi · Paolo Gacci · Beatrice Detti · Paolo Gontero · Stefano Chiodini · Liliana Mereu · Saverio Tateo · Sandra Mazzoli · Gianni Malossini · Riccardo Bartoletti Received: 20 August 2013 / Accepted: 24 January 2014 / Published online: 12 February 2014 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 All participants completed anonymously the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and were asked to report on their amount of daily apple consumption and their eating hab- its. On the basis of apple consumption all women were split into two groups: Group A––regular daily apple consump- tion, Group B––no regular apple consumption (<1 apple/ day). The main outcome measure was the FSFI question- naire result. Results Three hundred and forty-three women reported a regular daily apple intake and were classified in Group A, while 388 were included in Group B. Group A had a sig- nificantly higher total (p = 0.001; Cohen’s d = 3.39) and lubrication domain (p = 0.001; Cohen’s d = 3.02) FSFI Abstract Introduction Even if some evidence exists of a positive correlation between regular intake of phytoestrogens, poly- phenols, antioxidants and women’s sexual health, there is not a study addressing the potential correlation between daily apple consumption and women’s sexual function. We aim to assess whether there is a tie between daily apple intake and sexual function in a sample of healthy young sexually active Italian women, not complaining of any sex- ual disorders. Materials and methods Seven hundred and thirty-one women (mean age 31.9, range 18–43) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study (from September 2011 to April 2012). T. Cai (*) · G. Malossini Department of Urology, Santa Chiara Regional Hospital, Largo Medaglie d’Oro, 9, Trento, Italy e-mail: ktommy@libero.it M. Gacci Department of Urology, Careggi Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy F. Mattivi Food Quality and Nutrition Department, Fondazione Edmund Mach, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre, San Michele all’Adige, Italy N. Mondaini · R. Bartoletti Department of Urology, Santa Maria Annunziata Hospital, University of Florence, Florence, Italy S. Migno Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Florence, Florence, Italy V. Boddi Department of Public Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy P. Gacci Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Santa Maria Annunziata Hospital, Florence, Italy B. Detti Department of Radiotherapy, Careggi Hospital, Florence, Italy P. Gontero Department of Urology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy S. Chiodini Department of Urology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy L. Mereu · S. Tateo Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Santa Chiara Regional Hospital, Trento, Italy S. Mazzoli Sexually Transmitted Disease Centre, Santa Maria Annunziata Hospital, Florence, Italy