Anti-Viral Therapy and Decreased Sexual Desire in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

Purpose Peg-interferon (PegIFN)alpha 2a or PegIFN alpha 2b plus ribavirin (RBV) is the standard therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Taiwan and Asia. It is commonly associated with adverse effects, but the issue of sexual and mental health is not well reported. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of anti-viral therapy with PegIFN alpha plus RBV on sexual desire and depression. Methods This prospective cohort study from 2009 to 2014 enrolled 181 patients with HCV who received PegIFN alpha 2a (180 mcg/week) or PegIFN alpha 2b (1.5 mcg/Kg/week) plus RBV (800-1200 mg/day) according to response-guide therapy for 24 to 48 weeks in a tertiary medical center. Patients with decreased sexual desire (DSD) before PegIFNa plus RBV were excluded. Patients were evaluated at baseline (week 0) and after 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks of PegIFNa plus RBV treatment using the structured Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, for the diagnosis of a major depressive episode, and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), for monitoring depressive symptoms. The 21st item of the BDI was used to evaluate DSD. Results During therapy, 124 (68.5%) patients had DSD. The BDI score peaked at 14.8 weeks. The severity of DSD was greatest at 16 weeks of treatment. The average score of the 21st item of the BDI correlated with DSD. Depression history and the prevalence of subsequent major depressive disorder after anti-viral therapy was correlated to DSD (p = 0.05 and 0.001). Male patients complained of DSD more significantly than females (p = 0.031). Conclusions Decreased sexual desire is common but is usually neglected in patients with chronic hepatitis C undergoing anti-viral therapy, especially among male patients. Physicians must be monitoring the side effects of sexual health and depression.