Diabetes may up erectile dysfunction risk

Men, please take note. If you are suffering from diabetes, you may be at a higher risk of erectile dysfunction (ED), a new study suggests.

According to the doctors, from the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, ED, or the condition due to which there is incompetence to accomplish and sustain erection needed to have satisfactory sexual intercourse, in men, is commonly seen complication in Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

"ED has high prevalence in diabetics and occurs in early ages of diabetic population as compared to non-diabetics," said co-author Atul Kakar, Vice-Chairperson, Department of Medicine.

For the study, published in the journal Current Medicine Research and Practice, the doctors examined 225 diabetic males between age of 18-65 years with Type 2 diabetes and 50 non-diabetic males with the same age group and assessed the severity of ED among male diabetics, based on Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) questionnaire.

 

The SHIM questionnaire uses five sexual function components which include erection -- orgasm, desire for sex, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction.

They found that 173 diabetic males (78.7 per cent) had some degree of ED where as prevalence of ED in non-diabetic control group of 50 health individuals was found to be 46 per cent.

One of the interesting findings of our study was that longer the duration of diabetes more was the risk of ED, the researchers said.

The researchers also found that among patients with diabetes duration less than 5 years, 43.6 per cent had ED with only 3.6 per cent having severe ED.

Those with duration between 6-10 years, 83 per cent had ED with 10.9 per cent having severe ED. In patients with diabetes duration more than 10 years, 78.6 per cent has ED with 16.4 per cent having severe ED.

"Despite having erectile dysfunction many safer treatment options are available today for treatment of such patients. Thus patients need to report such symptoms early for effective management," Kakar noted.

--IANS

vc/vd