The effect of antihypertensive therapy on human sexuality

Abstract

Aim: The aim was to analyse the effect of antihypertensive therapy on incidence of sexual dysfunction in patients with arterial hypertension. Design: a review study. Methods: In the period from 2000 to 2015 we searched licensed and freely available electronic databases: CINAHL EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Pubmed and Medline for relevant recherches of Czech and foreign sources. We set the following criteria: a study of least 100 participants and a minimum six-month follow-up. We excluded experimental and vaguely defined studies. From a total of 123 searches, 45 articles met the criteria. A review includes a total of 15 studies, six studies with a control group of healthy individuals, two cohort studies, six randomized trials and one case study with a control group. Results: The study analysis showed that beta-blockers and thiazide diuretics are the most detrimental in terms of incidence of sexual dysfunction. Angiotensin II receptor antagonists and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have a neutral or beneficial effect. Conclusion: The review article deals with the issue of patients' sexuality, focusing on the potentially negative effect of antihypertensive therapy on sexual function. Current scientific findings suggest that antihypertensive therapy increases the risk of occurence of sexual dysfunction. Professional literature is more dedicated to the incidence of male sexual dysfunction, especially erectile dysfunction, than with female sexual dysfunction.