Sexual function and depressive symptoms in young women with hypoprolactinaemia

Dopamine agonist treatment may result in hypersexuality in men. The aim of this study was to investigate for the first time female sexual functioning and depressive symptoms in women with very low prolactin levels.

A prospective case-control study.

The study population consisted of three age-matched groups of young women with normal, regular menstrual cycles: 15 subjects with cabergoline-induced hypoprolactinaemia (group A), 25 cabergoline-treated individuals with prolactin levels within the reference range (group B) and 30 dopamine agonist-naïve women with normoprolactinemia. Because of low prolactin levels, the dose of cabergoline in group A (but not in group B) was then reduced. Apart from measuring serum levels of prolactin, testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, estradiol and gonadotropins, at the beginning of the study and 6 months later, all included women filled in questionnaires evaluating female sexual function (FSFI) and depressive symptoms (BDI-II).

At the beginning of the study, there were no differences between groups B and C in the mean total FSFI score, all domain scores and in the BDI-II score. In group A, the total FSFI score and domain scores for desire and arousal were lower, while the BDI-II score was higher than in the remaining study groups. Compared with groups of B and C, women with cabergoline-induced hypoprolactinaemia were also characterized by lower total testosterone levels and lower values of the free androgen index. Cabergoline dose reduction normalized the FSFI score, desire, arousal, the BDI-II score, as well as normalized prolactin, total testosterone and the free androgen index.

The obtained results suggest that dopamine agonist-induced hypoprolactinaemia impairs sexual functioning and well-being in young women, as well as that these disturbances are secondary to low prolactin levels, not to specific properties of cabergoline.