Do Antidepressants Impact Sperm Function?
A. A recent study presented at the Reproductive Medicine meeting this year (Tanrikut et al., 2008), suggested that an SSRI antidepressant significantly increased sperm DNA damage to levels that have been well associated with poorer reproductive outcomes (over 30% damaged sperm). This study mirrored the results from a 2005 study that my group presented. In our study, men who smoked saw a dramatic increase in the percent of sperm with damaged DNA, while taking SSRIs. It is my opinion that the potential impact of SSRIs on men who are trying to conceive, is a hugely under-discussed issue. Approximately 4-6 million men of reproductive age in the US are on SSRIs. These medications can cause 1/3 – 1/2 of men to have sexual dysfunction including erectile dysfunction and delayed ejaculation, which can also interfere with TTC. The cause of this is most likely disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. These medications can elevate prolactin, which due to a cascade, suppresses testost
