title: Impact of Antidepressant Drugs on Sexual Function and Satisfaction.
abstract: Pleasurable sexual activity is important in many human relationships and can provide a sense of physical, emotional and social well-being. Depressive symptoms and depressive illness are associated with impairments in sexual function and sexual dissatisfaction in untreated and treated patients. Most currently available antidepressant drugs are associated with development or worsening of sexual dysfunction in a substantial proportion of patients. Sexual difficulties during antidepressant treatment often resolve as depression lifts, but can persist over long periods, reducing self-esteem and affecting mood and relationships adversely. Sexual difficulties during antidepressant treatment typically have many possible causes but the incidence and nature of dysfunction varies between drugs. Many interventions can be considered when managing sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressants but no approach is 'ideal'. Because treatment-emergent sexual difficulties are less frequent with certain drugs, presumably related to differences in pharmacological properties, and since current interventions are suboptimal, a lower incidence of sexual dysfunction is a relevant tolerability target when developing novel antidepressants.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Sciences Academic Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. D.S.Baldwin@soton.ac.uk.|University Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. D.S.Baldwin@soton.ac.uk.|University Guangji Hospital, Suzhou, China. D.S.Baldwin@soton.ac.uk.|University Department of Psychiatry, Academic Centre, College Keep, 4-12 Terminus Terrace, Southampton, SO14 3DT, UK. D.S.Baldwin@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Baldwin
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Sciences Academic Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manson
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Sciences Academic Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Magda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nowak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009948:Orgasm / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents