Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Apr 2020)

Effect of Depression and Antidepressants on Sexual Dysfunction in Men with Diabetes: A National Population-Based Cohort Study

  • Chung PL,
  • Huang CW,
  • Lee MJ,
  • Yang YH,
  • Chen KJ,
  • Lu ML,
  • Weng JC,
  • Chen VCH

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 1105 – 1112

Abstract

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Pei-Lun Chung,1 Chien-Wei Huang,2 Min-Jing Lee,1,3 Yao-Hsu Yang,4,5 Ko-Jung Chen,4 Mong-Liang Lu,6 Jun-Cheng Weng,1,7 Vincent Chin-Hung Chen1,3 1Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi Branch, Chiayi, Taiwan; 2Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, and National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan; 3School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 4Health Information and Epidemiology Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi Branch, Chiayi, Taiwan; 5Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi Branch, Chiayi, Taiwan; 6Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; 7Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanCorrespondence: Vincent Chin-Hung ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, TaiwanEmail [email protected]: This study explored and compared the effects of depression and antidepressants on sexual dysfunction in men with diabetes mellitus (DM).Patients and Methods: Patients older than 18 years who had been newly diagnosed with DM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] code 250) between 1999 and 2010 were identified from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database and were followed up until 2013. Patients with preexisting depression or sexual dysfunction were excluded. A total of 636,210 patients with DM were enrolled. These patients were divided into two groups: DM with comorbid depression and a matched cohort without depression. The groups were followed up until the end of 2010 for the first diagnosis of sexual dysfunction (ICD-9-CM codes 302.70, 302.71, 302.72, 302.74, 302.75, 302.76, 302.79, 607.84, and V417). A Cox proportional hazard model and a Cox regression model with time-dependent covariates were applied.Results: Patients with DM and depression had a higher risk of sexual dysfunction than those with DM without depression (hazard ratio [HR] =  1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33– 1.55). The risk of sexual dysfunction was lower in the subgroup who used antidepressants (per 28 cumulative defined daily doses [cDDDs]), HR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94– 0.97). A significantly lower incidence of sexual dysfunction was also associated with the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, per 28 cDDD). The adjusted HR was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.93– 0.97). Subgroup analysis indicated that SSRI use was significantly associated with an amelioration of erectile dysfunction (per 28 cDDD), with an HR of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92– 0.97).Conclusion: Male patients with DM and depression are at increased risk of sexual dysfunction. Antidepressant use had a small inverse association with the risk of sexual dysfunction in men with DM and depression. Antidepressants, in particular SSRIs, did not increase the risk of sexual dysfunction in this population.Keywords: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI, sexual functioning, diabetes mellitus, depression

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