Objective: This systematic review is aimed to quantitatively summarise the
prevalence of sexual dysfunction among non-SSRI second generation
antidepressants namely agomelatine, bupropion, duloxetine, venlafaxine, and
mirtazapine.
Methods: Relevant studies published from inception till
December 2012 were identified by searching PubMed, OVID and Embase.
We included all literatures encompassing randomized controlled, cohort,
case-controlled and cross-sectional studies, which contained quantitative data
for prevalence on all aspects of sexual dysfunction in depressive patients who
were older than 18 years of age. Heterogeneity, publication bias and odds
ratio were assessed thoroughly.
Results: In the non-SSRI second generation
antidepressant group which consisted of 17,316 subjects, various studies
showed the range of sexual dysfunction prevalence between 0% and 67%.
Sexual dysfunction in patients who took non-SSRI second generation
antidepressants constituted a meta-analytical pooled prevalence of 15%, and
36% in those who took SSRIs. The combined relative risk of sexual
dysfunction in the non-SSRI second generation antidepressant group when
compared with SSRI was 0.57.
Conclusions: The pooled prevalence of sexual
dysfunction in non-SSRI second generation antidepressant is lower than in
SSRI antidepressants.