Impairment of Sexual Desire in Treatment-Resistant Depression: Prevalence and Correlates

Walter Dos Santos Gonçalves; Roseane Dorte Halkjaer Lassen; Aline Sardinha; Evandro Silva Freire Coutinho; David S Baldwin; Antonio E Nardi; Jose Carlos Appolinario

doi:10.4088/PCC.22m03275

Impairment of Sexual Desire in Treatment-Resistant Depression: Prevalence and Correlates

Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2022 Nov 22;24(6):22m03275. doi: 10.4088/PCC.22m03275.

Authors

Walter Dos Santos Gonçalves^{1

2

3}, Roseane Dorte Halkjaer Lassen¹, Aline Sardinha², Evandro Silva Freire Coutinho⁴, David S Baldwin^{5

6}, Antonio E Nardi¹, Jose Carlos Appolinario¹

Affiliations

¹ Treatment-Resistant Depression Outpatient Clinic, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
² Sexual Dysfunction Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
³ Corresponding author: Walter dos Santos Gonçalves, MD, MSc, Outpatient Clinic-Institute of Psychiatry-UFRJ, Av.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Medicine, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁵ Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

PMID: 36441983
DOI: 10.4088/PCC.22m03275

Abstract

Objective: To assess sexual desire in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Methods: Baseline data were analyzed from an ongoing cohort study at an outpatient clinic specializing in TRD treatment in Brazil. The cohort comprised consecutive patients with the diagnosis of TRD who sought treatment at this center between November 2015 and January 2021. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) genital symptoms item (item 14) was used as a proxy to assess sexual desire.

Results: Sixty-five participants with TRD were included. There was sexual desire impairment in 67.7% of patients. Men (87.5%) were more affected than women (61.2%), and this difference was statistically significant (P = .05). Depression severity was associated with greater complaints of this aspect of sexual function (P < .01).

Conclusions: Participants with TRD had a high prevalence of sexual desire impairment, which was associated with greater depressive symptom severity and male sex. The findings suggest that health care professionals should systematically assess sexual desire in patients with TRD in daily clinical practice. Further longitudinal studies are needed in larger samples using specific instruments for assessing sexual dysfunction and comparing TRD and non-TRD populations.

MeSH terms

Advance Directives
Cohort Studies
Depression* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Libido*
Male
Prevalence