Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors: Sexual Dysfunction

Question

The current Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved product information for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has a warning for the risk of sexual dysfunction where symptoms continue despite stopping treatment.

The term Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction was added to the regulatory dictionary in 2021, which will help with the recording and retrieval of Yellow Card data and literature cases, and in the future, will contribute to the much needed research into this important health issue.

Persistent sexual dysfunction following withdrawal of an SSRI, as a disorder, was added to the electronic health records system SNOMED in October 2024, as a code that will help with the clinical identification of patients with persistent sexual dysfunction, including after taking SSRIs.

An Expert Working Group of the Commission on Human Medicines has been established by the MHRA to consider how the risk of sexual dysfunction which continues after stopping antidepressants use is communicated in patient information leaflets, however this work will not address the clinical recognition of post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, as that is outside the remit of the MHRA.