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Treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction in randomized trials of vortioxetine for major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder: a pooled analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 November 2015

Paula L. Jacobsen*
Affiliation:
Takeda Development Center Americas, Deerfield, Illinois, USA
Atul R. Mahableshwarkar
Affiliation:
Takeda Development Center Americas, Deerfield, Illinois, USA
William A. Palo
Affiliation:
Takeda Development Center Americas, Deerfield, Illinois, USA
Yinzhong Chen
Affiliation:
Takeda Development Center Americas, Deerfield, Illinois, USA
Marianne Dragheim
Affiliation:
H. Lundbeck A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark
Anita H. Clayton
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Paula L. Jacobsen, Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., One Takeda Parkway, Deerfield, IL 60015, USA. (Email: paula.jacobsen@takeda.com)
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Abstract

Objective

Antidepressants are frequently associated with treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction (TESD). Vortioxetine, which was approved for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), has a receptor profile that suggests limited impact on sexual functioning.

Methods

Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) patient-level data were pooled from 7 short-term vortioxetine trials (6 in MDD, 1 in generalized anxiety disorder) and analyzed for incidence of TESD at any post-baseline visit in patients without sexual dysfunction at baseline (defined as ASEX total score ≥19; individual ASEX item score ≥5; or a score ≥4 on any 3 ASEX items). The primary objective was to confirm the non-inferiority of vortioxetine 5–20 mg/day to placebo on the incidence of TESD. Comparisons were based on the common risk difference (95% confidence interval). Additional analyses compared vortioxetine to duloxetine and duloxetine to placebo. A sensitivity analysis, defined as TESD at 2 consecutive post-baseline visits, was conducted.

Results

TESD incidence, relative to placebo, generally increased with vortioxetine dose with vortioxetine 5 mg non-inferior to placebo. Vortioxetine 10, 15, and 20 mg did not meet the non-inferiority criterion, but no dose had a significantly higher risk of developing TESD versus placebo. Changes in ASEX individual item scores supported the similarity of vortioxetine doses to placebo. Significantly higher TESD risk occurred with duloxetine 60 mg/day versus placebo and versus vortioxetine 5 or 10 mg. The sensitivity analysis was generally consistent with the primary analysis. Rates of spontaneously reported sexual adverse events were low.

Conclusions

Vortioxetine was associated with rates of TESD that were not significantly different from placebo in short-term clinical trials.

Information

Type
Original Research
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - SA
The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence . The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use.
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2015
Figure 0

Table 1 Incidence of treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction in patients without sexual dysfunction at baseline by dose and individual study as assessed by Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale

Figure 1

Figure 1 Common risk difference of developing treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction in patients without sexual dysfunction at baseline in the major depressive disorder/generalized anxiety disorder short-term data pool as assessed by ASEX.

Figure 2

Figure 2 Common risk difference of developing treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction at 2 consecutive visits in patients without sexual dysfunction at baseline in the major depressive disorder/generalized anxiety disorder short-term data pool as assessed by ASEX.

Figure 3

Figure 3 LS mean change in ASEX individual item scores from baseline to week 8 in the major depressive disorder/generalized anxiety disorder short-term data pool.

Figure 4

Figure 4 Common risk difference of worsening of sexual dysfunction in patients with sexual dysfunction at baseline in the major depressive disorder/generalized anxiety disorder short-term data pool as assessed by ASEX.

Figure 5

Table 2 Number (percentage) of patients in each treatment group who spontaneously reported adverse events related to sexual dysfunction (Data pooled from 10 trials in major depressive disorder and 4 trials in generalized anxiety disorder)

Supplementary material: File

Jacobsen supplementary material

Appendix 1-2

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