Pharmacovigilance Analysis of Reports of Sexual Dysfunction Associated with Finasteride Use: Implications for the Post-Finasteride Syndrome

The study investigates the association between finasteride use and sexual dysfunction, utilizing data from VigiBase, the WHO's international database. A total of 7,700 reports of sexual dysfunction linked to finasteride were identified, with a significant disproportionality signal (ROR 50.3). The signal was notably stronger in patients under 45 (ROR 56.4) and those using finasteride for alopecia (ROR 64.9). Despite sexual dysfunction being more common in older BPH patients, the findings suggest a larger impact on younger alopecia patients. Sensitivity analyses indicate that while confounding factors like indication and reporting bias may influence the results, they do not fully explain the strong signal observed in young alopecia patients.