Sexual and Fertility Effects of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors: What Role for Informed Consent?

Prior to the release of the selective serotonin reuptake-inhibiting (SSRI) drugs as antidepressants, serotonin reuptake-inhibiting drugs were known to have marked effects on sexual function, but these effects were not laid out in drug labels. After the launch of SSRIs, concerns were raised about possible effects on fertility, but these effects are not laid out in the labels of these medicines. This article charts the evolution of our knowledge in these domains and social and institutional responses to that knowledge. Given the gravity of conditions like post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, the effect of sexual dysfunction not just on individuals taking these drugs but on their partners, the increased use of these drugs among adolescents, and a possible contribution to falling fertility rates, this article asks if there are clinical and societal matters here that should now be more openly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]