Improvement in sexual functioning in patients with type 2 diabetes and depression treated with bupropion

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and type 2 diabetes have independent adverse effects on sexual functioning (SF). Bupropion (BU) reportedly has few sexual side effects, but its use in diabetes has not been studied.

This article reports a planned secondary analysis of SF in 90 patients with type 2 diabetes treated with BU for MDD.

At baseline, 71.1% of patients had insufficient SF. Mean Sexual Energy Scale (SES) scores improved during treatment (P < 0.0001), as did the percentage with sufficient SF (30.6 vs. 68.1%, P = 0.001). Patients with persistent hyperglycemia had higher rates of sexual dysfunction; however, SES improvement was evident in some with persistent depression or hyperglycemia (18.2% and 25.9%, respectively).

Insufficient SF is prevalent and may be suspected in patients with MDD and type 2 diabetes. BU treatment of MDD had few sexual side effects and was associated with significant improvements in SF.