Sexual identity and orientation in adult men and women with spina bifida

Sexuality has received little attention in spina bifida (SB) care. The aim of this study was to assess sexual identity and orientation in adults with SB.

An international online survey to adults with SB was administered over 10-months (recruitment: SB clinics, SB organizations via social media). Collected data included demographics, sexual identity and orientation. Non-parametric tests were used for analysis.

Median age of 77 men and 119 women was 35 years old (52.0% shunted, 48.5% community ambulators, 42.3% outside United States). Most commonly, men identified as male (96.1%), while 1.3% each described themselves as female, transgender and other. All women reporting sexual identity identified as female (99.2%), 0.8% not providing an answer. Most men reported heterosexual orientation (89.6%), followed by gay (7.8%) and bisexual (2.6%). Most women reported heterosexual orientation (84.9%), followed by bisexual (10.4%), gay/lesbian (2.5%), asexual (0.8%) and other (1.7%).

As in the general population, sexual identity typically coincides with biological gender. Sexual orientation of adults with SB mirrors the general population. Due to self-selection, these findings likely do not reflect exact prevalence in the SB population.

Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicine. 2017 Oct 20 [Epub ahead of print]

Konrad M Szymanski, Devon J Hensel, John S Wiener, Benjamin Whittam, Mark P Cain, Rosalia Misseri

Division of Pediatric Urology, Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA., Department of Pediatrics and Department of Sociology, Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA., Division of Urologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.