Having a baby can be both a thrill and the cause of depression for some women, but researchers found antidepressants could improve sexual problems.
Dr. Katherine Wisner, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pennsylvania, and colleagues studied sexual problems in 70 women diagnosed with postpartum depression during an 8-week study.
They examined the antidepressants nortriptyline (for example, Sensoval, Aventyl) and sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral) for postpartum depression in the participants.
Seventy-three percent of women reported problems in at least three areas of sexual function at the start of the study, but by week 8 this number had fallen to 37 percent.
According to the researchers, women whose depression was cured were more likely to report fewer concerns about sex drive, sexual arousal, and reaching orgasm than those whose depression did not remit, regardless of the antidepressant they took.
The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Investigators found that a decrease in sexual concerns was specifically linked with improvements in depression.
The authors wrote that since a specific association with either nortriptyline or sertraline did change the outcome, it does not matter how depression is addressed, only that it is relieved.
—
On the Net:
Comments