Assessment of sexual functioning in depressed patients treated with mirtazapine: a naturalistic 6-month study

• Published in: Human psychopharmacology Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 435 - 440
• Main Authors: Saiz-Ruiz, Jerónimo, Montes, Jose Manuel, Ibáñez, Ángela, Díaz, Marina, Vicente, Francisco, Pelegrín, Carmelo, Viñas, Rosa, Arias, Francisco, Carrasco, Jose Luis, Ferrando, Laura
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-08-2005
• Subjects: Adult; Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic - adverse effects; depression; Depressive Disorder - drug therapy; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Mianserin - adverse effects; Mianserin - analogs & derivatives; Middle Aged; mirtazapine; naturalistic; sexual dysfunction; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - chemically induced
• ISSN: 0885-6222; 1099-1077
• DOI: 10.1002/hup.706

Antidepressant‐induced sexual dysfunction is a frequent side effect which may greatly contribute to treatment non compliance. Mirtazapine has a pharmacological profile expected to result in a lack of sexual dysfunction. The main purpose of this 6‐month open‐label study was to evaluate the effects of mirtazapine on sexual function of a sample of depressed patients.
Methods
Seventy‐eight patients meeting DSM‐IV criteria for major depression or adjustment disorder with depressed mood or with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, sexually active prior to the episode, were treated with mirtazapine (15–60 mg/day). Effectiveness was assessed using the 17‐item Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAM‐D‐17), the Hamilton rating scale for anxiety (HAM‐A) and the clinical global impression (severity and improvement) scales (CGI). Sexual function was evaluated with the psychotropic‐related sexual dysfunction questionnaire (PRSexDQ) which detects clinical changes in sexual dysfunction.
Results
Forty‐eight patients (61.5%) were experiencing sexual dysfunction at baseline. A return to normal sexual functioning was observed in 27 of 38 (71.1%) patients completing the study. Significant reductions in mean total PRSexDQ scores were detected at day 90 and endpoint and only four patients withdrew or required dose reduction due to mirtazapine‐induced sexual dysfunction. A total of 37 patients (47.4%) achieved complete remission of depression (HAM‐D‐17 score ≤ 7) at endpoint. Only seven patients (9.0%) withdrew the study because of adverse events.
Conclusion
Mirtazapine showed in this study that it is an effective and well–tolerated antidepressant treatment with a possibly lower incidence of sexual side effects than other antidepressants. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.