Major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder: do the sexual dysfunctions differ?
OBJECTIVE
Major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are known to have significant impact on sexual functioning. They have been studied individually. Therefore, this study was planned to compare the sexual dysfunction between MDD, OCD, and GAD with healthy subjects as controls.


METHODS
Four groups (MDD, OCD, GAD, and healthy subjects), matched for age, gender, marital status, and education status were identified by using the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire. Subjects in these groups were assessed for absence of any major physical and psychiatric disorders. MDD, OCD, and GAD were rated for severity of illness by using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety, respectively. Subjects were evaluated with the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale for sexual dysfunction, which was defined as either a score of ≥ 5 on any item or a total score of ≥ 17. Suitable statistical analysis was used to interpret the results. The study was conducted from May 2006 through July 2007.


RESULTS
Fifty patients in each group were selected. The rate of sexual dysfunction was 30% in healthy controls, 76% in MDD subjects, 50% in OCD subjects, and 64% in GAD subjects. Low desire was the most commonly reported dysfunction among all the categories (p < .001). No particular dysfunction was associated with the 4 categories under study. Severity of illness did not correlate with the severity of sexual dysfunction.


CONCLUSIONS
Persons with MDD have more sexual dysfunction than those with OCD and GAD. These disorders had a pervasive affect on sexual functioning of the individuals.
Kendurkar
Arvind
A
Ballarat Health Services Psychiatric Service, Victoria, Australia and the Department of Psychiatry, Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Kaur
Brinder
B
J Affect Disord. 1999 Dec;56(2-3):201-8
10701478
Psychosomatics. 2007 Jul-Aug;48(4):309-18
17600167
J Clin Psychiatry. 2002 Apr;63(4):357-66
12000211
J Gend Specif Med. 1999 Mar-Apr;2(2):52-60
11252862
J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1986 Jun;6(3):144-9
3711364
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1989 Nov;46(11):1006-11
2684084
Eur Psychiatry. 2003 Dec;18(8):412-4
14680718
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1960 Feb;23:56-62
14399272
Am Fam Physician. 1993 Mar;47(4):832-8
8438682
J Clin Psychiatry. 2001;62 Suppl 3:10-21
11229449
Diabetes Care. 1990 Aug;13(8):893-5
2209327
JAMA. 1999 Feb 10;281(6):537-44
10022110
Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 1998 Jul;13 Suppl 6:S1-4
9728667
J Sex Marital Ther. 2000 Jan-Mar;26(1):25-40
10693114
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1985 Nov;42(11):1098-104
3863548
J Sex Marital Ther. 1989 Spring;15(1):31-41
2738928
Br J Med Psychol. 1959;32(1):50-5
13638508
Am Fam Physician. 2000 Aug 15;62(4):782-6
10969857
Arch Sex Behav. 1982 Aug;11(4):323-8
7149967
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001 Aug;58(8):787-94
11483146
J Clin Psychiatry. 1987 May;48(5):201-3
2883173
J Sex Marital Ther. 2001 May-Jun;27(3):273-7
11354932
Curr Med Res Opin. 2003;19(2):114-24
12740155
J Affect Disord. 2006 Mar;91(1):19-25
16434108