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Sexual dysfunction is one of the most common side effects of SSRIs, and often leads to poor adherence and treatment discontinuation. While several strategies have been employed to manage SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction, drug holidays has not been extensively studied for this purpose. This clinical trial aims to assess the effect of drug holidays on sexual dysfunction in married men under treatment with SSRIs other than fluoxetine (as its long half-life makes drug holidays ineffective).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This 8-week double-center, randomized, open-label, controlled trial was conducted in the outpatient clinics of Iran Psychiatric Hospital and Tehran Institute of Psychiatry, from January 2022 to March 2023. We included married men aged between18 and 50 years who had experienced sexual dysfunction during treatment with SSRIs, other than fluoxetine. The Male Sexual Health Questionnaire (MSHQ) and the 28-Question General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used for the assessment of sexual function and mental health status. The drug holidays group was instructed not to take their medications on the weekends. The control group was asked to continue their regular medication regimen without any changes. Both groups were assessed at baseline, and weeks 4 and 8.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Sixty-three patients were included and randomly assigned to the drug holidays group (\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200932) or the control group (\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200931). Fifty patients (25 in each group) completed the trial. Drug holidays significantly improved erection, ejaculation, satisfaction, and the overall sexual health of the participants (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.001). No significant change was observed in their mental health status. No major side effects were recorded.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Drug holidays significantly improved the MSHQ scores in \u2018erection\u2019, \u2018ejaculation\u2019, \u2018satisfaction\u2019 and \u2018total\u2019 in married men with sexual dysfunction induced by SSRIs, other than fluoxetine, without causing any significant changes in their mental health status. Further research is needed to reach a certain conclusion.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Trial registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials on 2021.10.25 (\n                      <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" ext-link-type=\"uri\" xlink:href=\"http:\/\/www.irct.ir\">www.irct.ir<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      ; IRCT ID: IRCT20170123032145N6) before the trial.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-024-05507-7","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,23]],"date-time":"2024-01-23T08:02:19Z","timestamp":1705996939000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["The effect of drug holidays on sexual dysfunction in men treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) other than fluoxetine: an 8-week open-label randomized clinical trial"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Arman","family":"Alipour-Kivi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Negin","family":"Eissazade","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seyed Vahid","family":"Shariat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Razieh","family":"Salehian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shiva","family":"Soraya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sanaz","family":"Askari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammadreza","family":"Shalbafan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,23]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"5507_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(21)00395-3","volume":"9","author":"GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators","year":"2022","unstructured":"GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators. 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Written informed consent was obtained from all participants or, if subjects are illiterates then from a legal guardian. Patients were reassured that their participation was voluntary and that they had the right to return to their usual treatment at any point of the study. The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials on 2021.10.25 (\n                      \n                      ; IRCT ID: IRCT20170123032145N6) before the trial.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"67"}}