Antidepressant use is associated with persistent loss of genital sensation

Antidepressant use is associated with sexual side effects, and is often accompanied by decreased genital sensitivity that persists even after the medication is discontinued, according to a new study from Simon Fraser University.

The study, published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, shows that 13 percent of people taking antidepressants reported decreased genital sensitivity, compared with one percent of people taking other psychiatric medicines.

This problem has long been overlooked, largely because of stigma, shame and embarrassment to patients. For some, the problem went away with time, but for many it remains for a long time.

Sexual dysfunction after taking antidepressants such as SSRIs is an understudied and underreported syndrome of persistent sexual dysfunction in which sexual function does not recover even after the drug is discontinued.

“I’ve had to talk to teens who have had this experience, and it’s horrible. There’s no way to describe how severe this trauma is for people. It’s not just about ‘numb’ genitalia – it’s about what it can mean for a relationship when you become impotent/frigid without your consent. This is serious harm,” says principal investigator Travis Salway.

In some people, this side effect manifests itself in a mild form: the genitalia become less sensitive, maybe 80 percent of what it used to be. In more severe cases, there is complete numbness.

The study was part of a large survey (~9,600 mostly LGBTQ youth in Canada and the US) that focused on mental health, conversion therapy, and other factors that shape experiences related to gender and sexuality in adolescence and early adulthood.

“This study reminds us that pharmacological interventions play a role in shaping young people’s sexual experiences, and there is a critical need for better understanding and education in this regard,” said Travis Salway, SFU associate professor of health sciences and principal investigator of the study.

As part of the questionnaire, participants were asked if they had ever taken antidepressants, discontinued them and subsequently experienced a range of symptoms characteristic of antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction (AISD). Research on AISD is complicated by the fact that many symptoms, such as low libido, can also be attributed to depression. However, genital numbness, known as genital hypoesthesia, is a symptom of AISD that is not associated with depression.

“There is no medical explanation for why people should experience genital numbness due to depression or anxiety (or other common conditions for which SSRIs/SNRIs are prescribed),” Salway explains. – “The frequency of genital hypoesthesia in those with a history of antidepressant use was more than 10 times the frequency we observed in those taking other psychotropic medications (e.g., antipsychotics or sedatives).

Part of the problem is the lack of informed consent and accountability. Although antidepressants are often prescribed to people suffering from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, phobias, chronic pain, depression and other conditions, people are not warned about the risks.

The findings emphasize the need for better education of patients and prescribing physicians, as well as warnings, so that patients can decide for themselves whether such risks are worth taking.

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Published: 11.12.2024

Updated: 11.12.2024

Medical author, Medical editor:

Stepan Yuk

Medical expert:

PhD. Olexandr Voznyak