lordswrans/lordswrans2025-10-01 conversation_18
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: lordswrans/lordswrans2025-10-01 conversation_18

Lord Kamall:To ask His Majesty's Government how many 'yellow card' reports of increased sexual arousal and sexual arousal disorders the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency received each year since 2014, and which medications those reports were tied to. \p Baroness Merron: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions.

It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean that it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental. The number of reports received cannot be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.

The MHRA can confirm that it has received 124 spontaneous suspected United Kingdom Adverse Drug Reaction reports from 1 January 2014 to, and including, 18 September 2025, where a reaction term within the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities’ (MedDRA) High-Level Term "Sexual Arousal Disorders” was reported. MedDRA is a clinically validated international medical terminology dictionary. It’s organised by System Organ Class, divided into High-Level Group Terms, High-Level Terms, Preferred Terms, and finally into Lowest Level Terms.

The following table shows the number of UK spontaneous suspected Adverse Drug Reaction reports where a reaction within the High-Level Term “Sexual Arousal Disorders” was reported, from 1 January 2014 to, and including, 18 September 2025, by year:

Year received

Number of reports received

2014

6

2015

8

2016

15

2017

11

2018

5

2019

8

2020

8

2021

26

2022

10

2023

11

2024

8

2025

8

In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of these reports by suspect medicine, for all suspect substances for which we received two or more reports:

Substance

Number of reports received

SERTRALINE

22

CITALOPRAM

15

CHADOX1 NCOV-19

7

ARIPIPRAZOLE

6

FLUOXETINE

6

TOZINAMERAN

5

FINASTERIDE

5

ETHINYLESTRADIOL

4

ESCITALOPRAM

3

LISDEXAMFETAMINE

3

OXYCODONE

2

DESOGESTREL

2

DULOXETINE

2

ISOTRETINOIN

2

LISINOPRIL

2

MEMANTINE

2

OESTRIOL

2

PAROXETINE

2

TRAZODONE

2

VENLAFAXINE

2

VORTIOXETINE

2

Note: please be aware that reports received via the Yellow Card scheme can contain more than one suspect medicine and as such the numbers in the table cannot be summed up to the total number of reports.

Suspect substances for which a single report was received were amitriptyline, amoxycillin, atomoxetine, canagliflozin, candesartan, ciprofloxacin, clavulanic acid, clobetasol, clonazepam, diazepam, donepezil, doxycycline, drospirenone, dutasteride, elasomeran, estradiol, etonogestrel, flucloxacillin, flupenthixol, ibutamoren, levonorgestrel, linagliptin, mefloquine, methylphenidate, metronidazole, minoxidil, norelgestromin, pramipexole, propranolol, quetiapine, reboxetine, risperidone, ropinirole, sildenafil, solifenacin, teriparatide, tirzepatide, tramadol, ulipristal, and varenicline.