US Food and Drug Administration Warning Regarding Finasteride and Suicidal Ideation: What Should Urologists Know?

April 2023 in “ European urology open science ”

Haidar Al Saffar, Jennifer Xu, Jonathan S. O'Brien, Brian D. Kelly, Declan G. Murphy, Nathan Lawrentschuk

finasteride benign prostatic hyperplasia androgenic alopecia 5-alpha reductase inhibitors depressive symptoms suicidal ideation Propecia BPH AGA 5-ARI depression SI

TLDR Urologists should screen for mental health issues before and during finasteride treatment.

The US FDA has added suicidal ideation (SI) to the list of adverse effects for finasteride, a drug used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and androgenic alopecia (AGA). Despite patient reports and advocacy group petitions, a clear causal link between finasteride and SI remains unproven due to a lack of comprehensive randomized studies. Evidence from dermatology suggests higher rates of depressive symptoms among 5-ARI users. Urologists should screen for mental health issues before prescribing finasteride and monitor patients for new-onset depression or SI. Further research is needed to establish a definitive connection between finasteride and SI.

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Research cited in this study

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