Sexual Side Effects of Antidepressants Affect Men and Women Differently

Prozac (Fluoxetine) and its pharmaceutical peers -- officially known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs -- have been gaining a reputation for inhibiting sexual desire. So, in 1998, when Lisa Piazza, M.D., of Cornell University Medical College, placed a group of 25 depressed people on SSRls, the surprise was not that the sexual functioning of the men got significantly worse -- but that of the women significantly improved.

After six weeks of treatment, Piazza found that sexual desire, psychological arousal, and overall sexual functioning improved for the women, while ease of orgasm, satisfaction from orgasm, and deteriorated for the men.

Side effects from SSRI treatment may simply be less common in women, says Piazza. She also points out that the women had greater sexual impairment compared to the men at the beginning of the study, as a result of their chronic depression. Their low starting point left ample room for improvement.