Sexual dysfunctions are frequent in patients with mental illnesses. In particular, anxious and depressive symptomatology often impacts on sexual functioning.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between sexual function and psychological symptoms in a group of male patients with depression and anxiety disorders.

From outpatients program, we consecutively recruited a group of 46 males: 28 patients had major depression and 18 anxiety disorders. Then, we administered two self-report psychometric tools to assess male sexuality, depression and anxiety, i.e., international index of erectile function (IIEF-15), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). t-tests and Pearson correlations were performed.

We found significantly higher score in terms of desire and general sexual wellness in people with anxiety disorder compared to people with depression. However, we found more significant correlations among depressive/anxious symptomatology and sexual impairment in males with anxiety disorders compared to males with depression.

Our results revealed that males diagnosed with depression show a decrease of sexual desire, as a vast part of literature previously affirmed. On the contrary, the relationship between psychological symptomatology and sexual dysfunction, as the reduction of erectile function, was higher in males with anxiety disorders. This difference is probably due to a major iatrogenic effect of antidepressive treatments in depressed patients, while in anxious patients could be the psychological state, per se, the main cause of sexual dysfunctions.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.