Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in patients receiving psychotropic medications

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual dysfunction is a known adverse effect of psychotropic medications. Even though sexual difficulties are common in patients taking psychotropic medications; very few studies have been carried out in India. Objective: To study the prevalence and nature of SD among patients with mental illness receiving psychotropic medications under routine clinical condititions. Materials and Methods: This study was cross sectional hospital based study conducted at tertiary care hospital, Maharashtra, India. The study used a convenience sample selected during the outpatient unit of psychiatry department. The study sample consisted of 53 married male patients who presented with psychiatric illness as diagnosed by DSM-V criteria. Psychotropic- Related Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire (PRSexDQ-SALSEX)19, was used to assessed the participants sexual functioning. Results: Study sample consist of 53 married male patients, the mean age of study sample was 36.74 years, out of which most of the patients were from rural (64.2%) area. The results reveal that when there is exposure to psychotropic in the patient, changes are noticed in the sexual activity. Sexual dysfunction was highest in the antipsychotic group compared to others. Conclusion: Psychotropic- induced sexual dysfunction is very common among patients receiving antipsychotics medication. Clinicians should be aware about this while prescribing psychotropic medications and should make treatment plan to manage psychotropic- induced sexual dysfunction for better outcomes and patient’s compliance to treatment. Keywords: Mental illness psychotropics sexual dysfunction