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Beliefs and counseling practices among dermatologists regarding sexual and other adverse effects of finasteride

International Journal of Impotence Research (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Finasteride may cause low libido and erectile dysfunction and the product label of finasteride also includes post-marketing reactions of sexual dysfunction that continued after discontinuation of treatment, as well as male infertility and depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the beliefs and counseling practices among dermatologists regarding adverse effects of finasteride. Anonymous paper surveys were personally distributed to 122 attendees at two annual major dermatology meetings. The participation rate was 82% with 47% women and 77% residents of the United States. 51% of respondents believed that finasteride could cause sexual side effects and 18% believed that it could cause persistent sexual side effects. Fewer than a quarter believed that finasteride could cause depression or lower sperm counts. When initiating finasteride, 69% of respondents counseled at least half of their patients about potential sexual side effects with 52% for persistent sexual side effects and 30% for depression. This study identifies the need for greater awareness of the potential adverse effects of finasteride and identifies opportunities for improvement in counseling practices that reflect finasteride’s product labeling.

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Additional data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael S. Irwig & Erica Dommasch

  2. Division of Endocrinology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael S. Irwig

  3. Fenway Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Jessika Sanz, Nicholas Tan & Erica Dommasch

  4. New York Institute College of Osteopathic Medicine, Jonesboro, AR, USA

    Jessika Sanz

  5. University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Deborah Lin

  6. Department of Dermatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Nicholas Tan & Erica Dommasch

Authors
  1. Michael S. Irwig
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  2. Jessika Sanz
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  3. Deborah Lin
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  4. Nicholas Tan
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  5. Erica Dommasch
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Contributions

MSI and ED conceived and designed the study. JS and DL acquired the data. MSI and NT analyzed and interpreted the data. MSI drafted the article. MSI, JS, DL, NT, and ED revised the article for intellectual contents. MSI, JS, DL, NT, and ED provided the final approval of the completed article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael S. Irwig.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Beth Israel Deaconess IRB.

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Irwig, M.S., Sanz, J., Lin, D. et al. Beliefs and counseling practices among dermatologists regarding sexual and other adverse effects of finasteride. Int J Impot Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00750-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00750-0

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