Erection disturbances in young men with mood disorders receiving no pharmacological treatment and body weight

Abstract

Introduction. Erection disturbances are an important problem of sexology and psychology of human relations. The key symptom of mood disturbances is reduction of sexual needs. On the other hand, the treatment of depression with antidepressants aggravates sexual dysfunctions in the patients. The aim of the presented study was to determine the prevalence of erection disturbances among depressive patients at the time of their first visit at the Mental Health Department and after 12 months of treatment.
Material and methods. The study was based on examinations of 56 males aged 19-45 years seen for the first time in the outpatient department of mental health, diagnosed with a mild or moderate depressive episode. The diagnosis of depression was established on the basis of ICD-10 criteria. In all the patients, the severity of depression was assessed using Hamilton Depression Scale in the version proposed by Pużyński and Wciórka. The magnitude of erection was assessed according to a 4-grade scale (0 — no disturbances, 1 - mild impairment of the ability to obtain and maintain erection, 2 - moderate impairment of the ability to obtain and maintain erection, 3 - sexual intercourse impossible because of erective dysfunction.
Results. The study demonstrated that a depressive episode is a risk factor for erection disturbances in male patients. The body mass index was also demonstrated to correlate with erection disturbances in the analyzed group. Additionally, the incidence of erective dysfunctions was observed to increase with age, both in the group of depressive patients and in healthy subjects.
Conclusions:
1. Depression episode is a risk factor for erection disturbances in male patients.
2. Body mass index correlates with erection disturbances in the analyzed group.
3. The incidence of erective dysfunctions increases with age, both in the group of depressive patients and in healthy subjects.