Validity of the Decreased Sexual Desire Screener for Diagnosing Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Abstract

The Decreased Sexual Desire Screener is a brief diagnostic instrument for generalized acquired Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in women. During the screening visit of 2 clinical trials, the authors assessed sensitivity of the Decreased Sexual Desire Screener in premenopausal women presenting with decreased sexual desire. The authors compared diagnoses of generalized acquired Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder made by clinicians who were not trained or specialized in the diagnosis of female sexual dysfunction using the Decreased Sexual Desire Screener with diagnoses made by expert clinicians after an extensive diagnostic interview. The sensitivity of the Decreased Sexual Desire Screener was 0.946 in a North American trial and 0.960 in a European trial.

Acknowledgments

Erol Onel coordinated the development of the DSDS with Diane J. Lewis-D’Agostino and was a clinical monitor for ROSE. Matthew Green was the trial monitor for ROSE. Jaromir Mikl and Miguel Garcia were the trial statisticians for ROSE and ORCHID, respectively. Joanne Zuck was the data manager for ROSE and ORCHID. The authors acknowledge the editorial assistance of Sorcha Wahlqvist, PhD, Fleishman-Hillard Group Limited, London, United Kingdom, whose services were funded by Boehringer Ingelheim.