Psychological Treatment of Major Depression: An Analysis of the Sexual Desire

Sexual dysfunction is frequently reported as a side effect of many antidepressant medications. As a result, for those depressed patients to whom sexual desire is important, psychological treatment may be a better intervention. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the possible changes in sexual desire following psychological treatments in depression, when focus of therapy is not on sexual function.
This is a quasi-experimental study, which was conducted in Tehran, Iran. A total of 281 depressed patients in the remission phase underwent psychological treatments, either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT, n=131) or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT, n=150). The therapy did not focus on any aspect of sexual function. Using a single item measure before and after treatment, sexual desire of the patients was categorized into intact, mild, moderate, or severe decline. A total of 255 participants completed the study questionnaires and were randomly assigned to CBT (122) and MBCT groups (133). Before therapy, 128(50.2%) participants were categorized in intact sexual desire group, 73(28.6%) in mild sexual desire dysfunction group, 40(15.7%) in moderate sexual desire dysfunction group, and 14(5.5%) in severe sexual desire dysfunction group. Logistic regression was used for analyzing the data by SPSS-16.
Low sexual desire in depression remission was predicted by age (P CBT might be superior to MBCT in improving sexual desire in patients with depression. Further studies using validated sexual function questionnaires are necessary.