Sexual dysfunction in married female patients on antidepressants: A Cross Sectional Observational study from Patna medical college and hospital

Abstract

Background: Clinicians and patients now have a broad variety of antidepressants to choose from, due to an ever-growing pharmacopoeia. However, one of the most significant considerations preventing antidepressant use is their side effects, one of which is sexual dysfunction. This issue has a negative impact on the patient’s quality of life which can contribute to clinical non-adherence in long-term therapies. Aims and Objectives: The objective of this research was to look into the characteristics of sexual dysfunction in married female antidepressant patients and patterns of sexual dysfunctions in female patients receiving antidepressants. Materials and Methods: It was Cross-sectional observational study. The study was conducted in the department of Psychiatry, Patna Medical College and Hospital at Patna.The Departmental Research Committee accepted the report, and 50 patients were enrolled after receiving written informed consent. Purposive sampling was used to pick the sample for the analysis, which had a cross-sectional study. The women contacted were in the outpatient psychiatric care of the department of Psychiatry and had been diagnosed with depressive disorder during the study period June 2018 to February 2019. Results: Seventy percent of patients were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), 20 % were taking tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and 10 % were taking other medications such as mirtazapine or desvenlafexine. Within six months, 44 % of patients were on therapy, and 22.0 % had been on treatment for more than two years. Patients taking Escitalopram (80 %) have less sexual activity than those taking Sertraline (66.7 %) or Fluoxetine (77.8 %), Patients observed a change in sexual activity in 58 percent of cases, a decrease in sexual desire in 70 % of cases (p=0.0009*), a slight decrease in 14 percent of cases, and a slight decrease in only 8 % of cases (p=0.0009). 18 % of patients reported a delay in orgasm, with 66 percent reporting a major delay, 8 % reporting a moderate delay, and 8 % reporting a slight delay (p=0.0001). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that sexual dysfunction is common in married female patients taking antidepressants, and that antidepressants affect both aspects of sexual functioning.