Exploring the link between eating disorders and persistent genital arousal disorder/genito-pelvic dysesthesia: first description and a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Plain English summary Persistent genital arousal disorder/genito-pelvic dysesthesia (PGAD/GPD) is characterized by recurrent physiological genital arousal without corresponding psychological arousal. PGAD/GPD is a poorly understood and researched disorder. It is often associated with significant psychological impairment and distress. Eating disorders are severe psychological illnesses that predominantly affect the female sex. They have a high psychological comorbidity and are often associated with severe physical consequences. We treated two female patients in whom there was a direct association between PGAD/GPD and eating disorder. In our systematic review of the literature, we found no study that further investigated the co-occurrence between PGADPGAD/GPD and eating disorders. This paper is the first to describe and investigate a relationship between PGAD/GPD and eating disorders. In previous literature, several factors have been hypothesized for the development of PGAD/GPD but also eating disorders. We argue that there are several common factors that appear to be important in the etiology, course, and treatment of both disorders (e.g. hormonal dysregulation or sensory sensitivity and avoidance), warranting future research on the possible comorbidity of these disorders.

Keywords

• Persistent genital arousal disorder
• Genito-pelvic dysesthesia
• Eating disorders
• Anorexia nervosa
• Systematic review
• Sexual dysfunction