Psychosocial interventions for premature ejaculation

Melnik T, Althof S, Atallah ÁN, Puga MEdos Santos, Glina S, Riera R

Published Online:

August 10, 2011

Premature ejaculation is a frequent sexual dysfunction. It is characterized by ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration. It is also characterized by the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations, and its personal consequences are distress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy. Although psychological issues are present in most of patients with PE, as a cause or as a consequence, research on the effects of psychological approaches for PE is not clear. The early success reports (97.8%) of Masters and Johnson have not be replicated. This review assessed the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for PE and found four trials involving 253 PE patients. Overall, there is weak and inconsistent evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychological interventions for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

Abstract (click to read)

Background:

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a very common sexual dysfunction among patients, and with varying prevalence estimates ranging from 3% to 20%. Although psychological issues are present in most patients with premature PE, as a cause or as a consequence, research on the effects of psychological approaches for PE has in general not been controlled or randomised and is lacking in long-term follow up.

Objectives:

To assess the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for PE.

To investigate any differences in efficacy between different types of psychosocial treatments for PE.

To compare psychosocial interventions with pharmacological treatment and pharmacological treatment in association with psychosocial treatment for PE.

Search strategy:

Trials were searched in computerized general and specialized databases, such as: MEDLINE by PubMed (1966 to 2010); PsycINFO (1974 to 2010); EMBASE (1980 to 2010); LILACS (1982 to 2010); the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Cochrane Library, 2010); and by checking bibliographies, and contacting manufacturers and researchers.

Selection criteria:

Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials evaluating psychosocial interventions compared with different psychosocial interventions, pharmacological interventions, waiting list, or no treatment for PE.

Data collection and analysis:

Information on patients, interventions, and outcomes was extracted by at least two independent reviewers using a standard form. The primary outcome measure for comparing the effects of psychosocial interventions to waiting list and standard medications was improvement in IELT (i.e., time from vaginal penetration to ejaculation). The secondary outcome was change in validated PE questionnaires.

Main results:

In one study (De Carufel 2006) behavioral therapy (BT) was significantly better than waiting list for duration of intercourse (MD (mean difference) 407.90 seconds, 95% CI 302.42 to 513.38), and couples' sexual satisfaction (MD -26.10, CI -50.48 to -1.72). BT was also significantly better for a new functional-sexological treatment (FS) (MD 412.00 seconds, 95% CI 305.88 to 518.12), change over time in subjective perception of duration of intercourse (Women: MD 2.88, 95% CI 2.06 to 3.70; Men: MD 2.52, CI 1.65 to 3.39) and couples' sexual satisfaction (MD -25.10, 95% CI -47.95 to -2.25), versus waiting list.

One study (Li 2006) showed that the combination of chlorpromazine and BT was superior than chlorpromazine alone for IELT (MD 1.11, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.40), SAS (Self-rating Anxiety Scale) (MD -8.72, 95% CI -11.09 to -6.35) and for some CIPE (Chinese Index Premature Ejaculation) questions ('anxiety in sexual activity', 'partner sexual satisfaction', 'patient sexual satisfaction', 'control ejaculatory reflex' and 'ejaculatory latency') ('Analysis 1.2').

One study (Yuan 2008) showed that citalopram significantly improved IELT (RR (risk ratio) 0.52, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.78) and the number of couples satisfied with their sex life after treatment (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.93), versus BT.

In the last study (Abdel-Hamid 2001), 31 patients received 1 of 4 drugs administered on an as-needed basis 35 hours before anticipated coitus (clomipramine, sertraline, paroxetine, sildenafil), or were instructed to use the pause-squeeze technique. The study consisted of five four-week periods of treatment, separated by two-week washout periods. Anxiety score and ejaculation latency time were measured before treatment, after each treatment and during washout periods. Sexual satisfaction scores were measured after each treatment. However the available data from the article were not sufficient to be included, and the related database was not available anymore, according to the main author.

Authors' conclusions:

Overall, there is weak and inconsistent evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychological interventions for the treatment of premature ejaculation. Three of the four included randomised controlled studies of psychotherapy for PE reported our primary outcome (Improvement in IELT), and the majority have a small sample size. The early success reports (97.8%) of Masters and Johnson could not be replicated. One study found a significant improvement from baseline in the duration of intercourse, sexual satisfaction and sexual function with a new functional-sexological treatment and behavior therapy compared to waiting list. One study showed that the combination of chlorpromazine and BT was superior to chlorpromazine alone. Randomised trials with larger group samples are still needed to further confirm or deny the current available evidence for psychological interventions for treating PE.

This record should be cited as:

Melnik T, Althof S, Atallah ÁN, Puga MEdos Santos, Glina S, Riera R. Psychosocial interventions for premature ejaculation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD008195. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008195.pub2

Assessed as up to date:

January 7, 2011

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Primary Review Group:

Prostatic Diseases and Urologic Cancers Group

Health topics:

Urology > Sexual problems > Premature ejaculation

Cochrane Summaries^beta

Independent high-quality evidence for health care decision making

Psychosocial interventions for premature ejaculation

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