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The Sexual Side-Effects of Antidepressant Medication: A Double-Blind Comparison of Two Antidepressants in a Non-Psychiatric Population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Andrew Kowalski ,
Robb O. Stanley ,
Lorraine Dennerstein ,
Graham D. Burrows  and
Kay P. Maguire
Andrew Kowalski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne
Robb O. Stanley*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne
Lorraine Dennerstein
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne
Graham D. Burrows
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Austin Hospital
Kay P. Maguire
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne
*
∗Reprint requests: University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Australia
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Abstract

Clinical reports have suggested that antidepressant medication may contribute to the sexual dysfunction experienced by some depressed patients. A double-blind trial in a non-psychiatric male population compared amitriptyline (tricyclic), mianserin (tetracyclic) and placebo for their effects on nocturnal sexual arousal. In a three-way crossover design active drug or placebo were taken for two weeks preceding measurement of the frequency, amplitude and duration of nocturnal penile tumescence and synchronous sleep indices. Both active compounds significantly decreased the amplitude and the total duration of nocturnal erections. The effects on sleep indices were as previously reported. Few differences were found between the tricyclic and tetracyclic drugs. Some implications of these findings are considered.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 147 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 413 - 418
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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