Can erectile dysfunction affect your standard of living?

Erectile dysfunction affects at least 20% of men in the world, although the true figure is probably even higher with so many reluctant to disclose their symptoms or oblivious to the problem. There are many well-known medically recommended treatments that can help with this condition but does it stop at that? What effect does this problem have on the people who have to deal with it daily?

A study carried out by Kantar Health tried to understand the differences between men suffering with erectile dysfunction around the world. Data was compared between men from Russia, USA, China, Brazil and other European countries. This was done to find out how many suffered from the condition and how they treated or lived with it. From the thousands of men interviewed, those from Japan were reported to have the highest prevalence of ED, with almost 42% of the men interviewed claiming to have the issue. Of the men interviewed from Russia though, only around 20% fell into the category. Does this really point to geographical variation in the number ED cases? Or could the men be unwilling to be forthcoming with such private details about their sexual health?

This theory was backed up by the data showing that only 6.5% of Russian men with the condition took any form of prescription medication, compared to the 13.5% of men from the US and other European countries. There was also a correlation with the Physical and Mental scores that indicated how the men felt about their quality of life. Russian men had the lowest physical and mental scores suggesting that they did not place much value on their standard of life. It is no surprise then that the study showed that Russian men had the highest prevalence of habits such as drinking (87.4%) and smoking (51.7%) compared to men in the other countries.

So what does this mean? It is apparent that even with advancements in the field of erectile dysfunction treatments, many men are still either not aware of their options, or are still too embarrassed to discuss the problem with their doctor. The study showed that in countries where more men spoke to a doctor regarding their symptoms, they were more likely to use a form of prescription treatment. This suggests there is an opportunity to encourage men suffering with this condition in Russia and other parts of Europe to discuss it and be open to available treatments provided by a healthcare professional. For those men who feel too embarrassed to speak to someone in person, there is a wealth of reliable online healthcare providers who offer the required treatment, with consultations also available online.

Link sources:

http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/KUDiseases/pubs/ED/index.aspx

http://www.meds4all.co.uk/erectile-dysfunction.html

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/12559296