Gender and depression: a diabolical cocktail

Coup de blues, depression, depression ... The decline in our mental tone is characterized by a profound sadness, high irritability, loss of interest and constant fatigue. Far from being solely women, depression is accompanied in 90% of male erectile dysfunction. How to redress the balance?

Depression affects 4.7% of French. Sadness, moodiness, inability to concentrate, constant fatigue, psychomotor retardation are symptoms of this disease. More serious than the simple stroke of blues, depression is not a temporary state. She requires medication and / or psychological care.

Depression and erectile dysfunction: a vicious circle
Depression affects nearly one in five women and almost one in ten men in their lives. Inheritance or simply macho male characteristic, men have more difficulty talking about their psychological problems. Thus, the disease is often detected at the onset of physical symptoms, or even attempt suicide.

Besides the usual symptoms, the disease is accompanied in 90% of depressed adults and in 54% of depressed moderate erectile dysfunction (TE)1. But the entanglement of these two phenomena is not unidirectional, and we talk about dynamic association:

On the one hand, depression can lead to erectile dysfunction. They are then a consequence of the loss of sexual interest2, The decrease in testosterone (concentration of male sex hormones)3 or changes in relationships between couples;
On the other hand, erectile dysfunction may initiate a depressive episode;
Finally, erectile dysfunction may be due to antidepressant treatment. Erectile dysfunction have been reported for most products available4.
Too often, patients prefer to leave their treatment they deem responsible for their sexual difficulties. Untreated depression can have tragic consequences. How to break this vicious cycle?

Do not give your treatment
To access a comprehensive care for depression, should talk to their doctor about side effects encountered. Stopping treatment is not a solution and is a real danger. The impaired quality of life, psycho consequences within the couple, the suffering of male victims of erectile dysfunction should help break the taboo and to seek help from their doctor. Overcoming his reluctance is the first step towards the solution.

The change of antidepressant treatment and / or specific treatment for erectile dysfunction may be proposed.

Towards a comprehensive care
A U.S. study4 was particularly interested in the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men with mild to moderate depression. Researchers have followed for 12 weeks 152 males depressed victims of erectile dysfunction for at least 6 months. Some of them were taken during this period tablets sildenafil while others took a placebo. Results: 48 of 66 patients had their sexual situation improved only 10 men against 60 on placebo. In addition, 76% of patients responding to treatment saw an improvement in their depressive symptoms and quality of life. Despite these encouraging results, researchers specify that sildenafil should not be used as first-line treatment of depression.

Doctors can no longer ignore these sexual problems, which are among the first symptoms of depression. In view of their repercussions on the quality of life, a holistic approach to illness is essential.

 

Home » Erection » Gender and depression: a diabolical cocktail