A group of American pharmaceutical scientists studied the relationship between taking antidepressants and the occurrence of sexual disorders in people who had never encountered such problems before. The article was published in the scientific journal broadcasting Journal of Affective Disorders Reports (JADR).
Antidepressants work by changing the balance of neurotransmitters (chemicals involved in regulating mood and emotions) in the brain. There are several types of antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Each of these types has a different mechanism of action, but individual antidepressants also cause different side effects.
One of the most commonly reported side effects of antidepressants is sexual dysfunction that occurs during treatment. This situation can negatively affect the patient’s quality of life and aggravate social problems.
The survey included 900 people ages 18 to 64 with major depressive disorder. According to the rates of antidepressant use in the past year, they were divided into two: those who continued to use antidepressants (62%), those who changed the type of medication (33%), and those who stopped using antidepressants (5%).
More than half (56%) reported having no sexual problems before being diagnosed with depression. 19% of these people reported experiencing sexual problems after starting treatment.
This percentage was similar between those who continued treatment and those who changed medications. All of these people attributed their sexual problems to at least one of the antidepressants they used.
The emergence of sexual dysfunction due to antidepressants may cause a person to discontinue medication for depression, scientists noted.
previous doctors in the name A simple remedy to combat erectile dysfunction.