SSRI Sexual Dysfunction: A Female Perspective

Abstract

Women experience two to three times the rate of depression that men do. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are prescribed for many conditions other than depression, such as anxiety disorders, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, pain syndromes, impulse control disorders, and personality disorders, some of which are more common in women. Increasing awareness of sexual side effects has tempered the initial enthusiasm with which SSRIs were greeted. Men taking SSRIs report higher rates of sexual side effect than women taking them, however, women seem to experience more severe sexual dysfunction. In this article, we discuss the epidemiology of sexual dysfunction and describe treatments with sildenafil.