Sexual side effects induced by psychotropic drugs

Abstract

The majority of psychotropic drugs entail sexual side effects. The sexual side effects may reduce quality of life and may give rise to non-compliance. For example, 30-60 per cent of patients treated with antidepressants are known to develop a sexual dysfunction. However, some psychotropic drugs with no or very few sexual side effects have begun to emerge. The treatment of sexual side effects induced by psychotropic drugs may consist of: modified sexual habits, reduction in dosage, switching to another medication, possibly in combination with different psychotropic agents, other varieties of pharmacologically active substances or specific products for the treatment of sexual dysfunction such as sildenafil. Above all, it should be acknowledged that relatively few data are available in this field and in particular that there is a lack of controlled studies.