Summary

Researchers in Paris, France, conducted a study on 156 HIV positive men who were taking a variety of anti-HIV treatment regimens. The purpose of this study was to find out about the relation between treatment and sexual dysfunction. According to their results, about 71% of subjects experienced "some degree" of sexual dysfunction since they began therapy. However, there appeared to be no link between the use of protease inhibitors (PIs) and sexual dysfunction.

Study details

Researchers divided subjects into the following three groups:

• group A – PI-using subjects
• group B – subjects who had never received a PI
• group C – subjects who had stopped taking PIs for at least one month

The profile of subjects was as follows:

• average age – 41 years
• average CD4+ count – 415 cells

Researchers used a survey with 163 questions to capture information.

Results

In reviewing responses to the questions, researchers found out the following:

• 18% of subjects had experienced sexual dysfunction before becoming HIV positive
• 32% of subjects had experienced sexual dysfunction before they began using anti-HIV therapy
• about 71% of all subjects reported some degree of sexual dysfunction
• subjects with sexual dysfunction were more likely to also have anxiety and/or depression
• the researchers could find no link between the use of PIs and sexual dysfunction
• there was no connection between the presence of the lipodystrophy syndrome and sexual dysfunction

The cause of sexual dysfunction in some men who use HAART remains unclear and will hopefully be the subject of future research. More research also needs to be done on sexual dysfunction in women!

REFERENCE

1. Lallemand F, Salhi Y, Linard F, et al. Sexual dysfunction in 156 ambulatory HIV-infected men receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy combinations with and without protease inhibitors. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2002;30(2):187-190.

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