Introduction
bradycardia, Sexual dysfunction, hoarseness, anxiety, dyspareunia, chronic diseases face similar challenges, chronic diseases, constipation, sexual disorders, weight gain, disorders of desire, sexual dysfunction, psychiatric, ’s behaviors, Nezamnia, in sexual desire, hypothyroidism
DISORDER, BROWN, DYSPAREUNIA, THYROID, DISEASE, CHRONIC ILLNESS, CHRONIC DISEASES, DISORDERS, SEXUAL PROBLEM, HYPOTHYROIDISM, HYPOTHYROIDISM
Thyroid is an active hormone gland that forms part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis [With a prevalence of 2 − 10% in different communities [In addition to physical problems such as weight gain, constipation, dry skin, bradycardia, hoarseness, slowed mental processing, and sexual disorders [This disease also increased prevalence of sexual dysfunction in both sexes (men and women). In women, hypothyroidism is associated with disorders of desire, arousal, satisfaction and orgasm, as well as dyspareunia (Although, the cause of the relationship between hypothyroidism and sexual dysfunction has not been clearly defined. However, some possible causes including changes in mood and circulating sex hormone levels through peripheral and central pathways, directly and indirectly, may be relevant in this context [Hypothyroidism can be the source of symptoms such as anxiety and stress in patients. Because the level of anxiety and stress in patients with hypothyroidism has been reported to be unfavorable, treatment of the associated mental disorders in these patients, in addition to alternative treatment with levothyroxine, seems necessary [Sexual dysfunction involves a disorder in sexual desire and psychosocial changes that affect the sexual response cycle and cause interpersonal stress and problems [Despite different etiologies, people with chronic diseases face similar challenges in managing their disease. These challenges include adjusting their lifestyle, dealing with emotions and psychological responses to chronic illness, coping with disease-related symptoms, and adherence to medication regimens and using a medication regimen. While there are many strategies for self-management or improving self-care activities and optimizing health while living with a chronic illness, CBT is a way that can bring good results for people with chronic physical illnesses. Lukkahatai et al. (2019) in a review study reported the role of CBT in the management of chronic diseases and its effect on controlling symptoms and improving the quality of patients’ life [Halford and Brown also introduced CBT as an adjunctive treatment for people with chronic physical illnesses. In this of patients, items such as psychiatric disorders associated with the illness, difficulty in adapting to the illness, difficulty in compliance with treatment, and problems with the patient’s behaviors will be well managed using cognitive-behavioral therapy [In the meantime, CBT is one of the ways to improve undesirable sexual function. Nezamnia et al. (2020) showed that compared to routine perinatal care counseling based on CBT improves sexual function and sexual self-efficacy of pregnant women [In cognitive therapy, therapists consider the process of cognitive processing to be more important than physiological factors and believe that the discovery of negative autosuggestion is helpful in the successful analysis of sexual problems [Despite the high prevalence of sexual dysfunction in patients with chronic diseases such as hypothyroidism and the importance of treating sexual dysfunction, doctors, health care providers and patients often ignore it [As far as we know, there is no previous study on this topic. Thus, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of CBT on sexual function in reproductive-aged women suffering from hypothyroidism.