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I read this claim on Twitter from a plastic surgeon who has worked for the Miss Venezuela organization. It says:

Estudios revelan que el 50% de las depresiones se curan con buen sexo. #CiruTips

Which means:

Studies reveal that 50% of depression cases are cured with good sex. #CiruTips

Is this true?

Oddthinking
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asdrubalivan
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    I'm taking part in an experiment on this right now! I'm in the control group. – KSmarts Oct 27 '17 at 18:22
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    Confounding factor - how much depression is caused by the inability to get sex (let alone "good" sex)? – PoloHoleSet Nov 17 '17 at 14:40
  • The claim as written is almost certainly false. Even for much less ambitious claims, like showing improved cognitive functioning, I wasn't able to turn up much evidence myself, but there certainly are claims out there: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/40042/does-masturbation-or-sex-help-one-focus-better-later – Fizz Nov 24 '17 at 03:58

1 Answers1

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This research suggests that semen in the reproductive tract may have some antidepressant properties:

Not only were females who were having sex without condoms less depressed, but depressive symptoms and suicide attempts among females who used condoms were proportional to the consistency of condom use. For females who did not use condoms, depression scores went up as the amount of time since their last sexual encounter increased. These data are consistent with the possibility that semen may antagonize depressive symptoms and evidence which shows that the vagina absorbs a number of components of semen that can be detected in the bloodstream within a few hours of administration.

This research suggests some long term stress reduction. It also links to several other related article about the relation between stress and sex.

Both articles shows some reduction or effects, nothing close to 50%

Oddthinking
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Rsf
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    I didn't get past the first article. [Here it is in full.](https://antville.org/static/sites/kitschtante/files/Semenproof.pdf) It is... uh... terrible. It is a correlation study drawing causal conclusions. You don't need to take my word for it. Here's [Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unique-everybody-else/201209/semen-antidepressant-think-again) critiquing it. – Oddthinking Oct 23 '17 at 13:02