Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Evidence for a genetic etiology to ejaculatory dysfunction

Abstract

A number of theoretical approaches to understanding the etiology of ejaculatory dysfunction have been proposed, but no study has yet found conclusive evidence that premature (PE) or delayed (DE) ejaculation is under genetic control. We conducted twin model fitting analyses on different indicator variables of ejaculatory function on a population-based sample of 3946 twins and their siblings (age 18–48; mean=29.9 years) to investigate genetic, shared environmental and unique environmental effects on PE and DE. A significant moderate genetic effect (28%) was found for PE. No clear-cut familial effect could be detected for DE. Significant associations between ejaculatory function and age were detected, but effects of age were generally very weak. The findings from the present study provide useful information regarding the etiology and understanding of ejaculatory dysfunction.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Jannini E, Lombardo F, Lenzi A . Correlation between ejaculatory and erectile dysfunction. Int J Androl 2005; 28: 40–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Waldinger M . Lifelong premature ejaculation: current debate on definition and treatment. J Men's Health Gend 2005; 2: 333–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Montorsi F . Prevalence of premature ejaculation: a global and regional perspective. J Sex Med 2005; 2: 96–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. McMahon C . Premature ejaculation: past, present and future perspectives. J Sex Med 2005; 2 (Suppl 2): 94–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Althof S . The psychology of premature ejaculation: therapies and consequences. J Sex Med 2006; 3 (Suppl 4): 324–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Waldinger M . The neurobiological approach to premature ejaculation. J Urol 2002; 168: 2359–2367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Donatucci C . Etiology of ejaculation and pathophysiology of premature ejaculation. J Sex Med 2006; 3 (Suppl 4): 303–308.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Corona G, Jannini E, Mannucci E, Fisher A, Lotti F, Petrone L et al. Different testosterone levels are associated with ejaculatory dysfunction. J Sex Med 2008; published article online April 10, 2008. DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.00846.x.

  9. Waldinger M, Rietschel M, Nöthen M, Hengeveld M, Olivier B . Familial occurrence of primary premature ejaculation. Psychiatr Genet 1998; 8: 37–40.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Jern P, Santtila P, Witting K, Alanko K, Harlaar N, Johansson A et al. Premature and delayed ejaculation: genetic and environmental effects in a population-based sample of Finnish twins. J Sex Med 2007; 4: 1739–1749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Waldinger M, Schweitzer D . The use of old and recent DSM definitions of premature ejaculation in observational studies: a contribution to the present debate for a new classification of PE in the DSM-V. J Sex Med 2008; 5: 1079–1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rosen R . Prevalence and risk factors of sexual dysfunction in men and women. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2000; 2: 189–195.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Jannini E, Simonelli C, Lenzi A . A sexological approach to ejaculatory dysfunction. Int J Androl 2002; 25: 317–323.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Nathan S . The epidemiology of the DSM-III psychosexual dysfunctions. J Sex Marital Ther 1986; 12: 267–281.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Schapiro B . Premature ejaculation: a review of 1130 cases. J Urol 1943; 50: 37–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kriegsfeld L, Demas G, Huang P, Burnet A, Nelson R . Ejaculatory abnormalities in mice lacking the gene for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS−/−)—a critical review of the empirical literature. Physiol Behav 1999; 67: 374–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Waldinger M, Quinn P, Dilleen M, Mundayat R, Schweitzer D, Boolell M . A multinational population survey of intravaginal ejaculation latency time. J Sex Med 2005; 2: 492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Santtila P, Sandnabba NK, Jern P, Varjonen M, Witting K, von der Pahlen B . Recreational use of erectile dysfunction medication may decrease trust in ability to gain and hold erections in young males. Int J Impot Res 2007; 19: 591–596.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Grenier G, Byers S . The relationships among ejaculatory control, ejaculatory latency and attempts to prolong heterosexual intercourse. Arch Sex Behav 1997; 26: 27–47.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Tabachnich B, Fidell L . Using Multivariate Statistics, 4th edn. HarperCollins: New York, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Neale M, Boker S, Xie G, Maes H . Mx: Statistical Modeling 6th edn. Department of Psychiatry, 2002. Available at: http://www.vcu.edu/mx/. (accessed 18 March 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Akaike H . Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika 1987; 52: 317–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Hong LK . Survival of the fastest: on the origin of premature ejaculation. J Sex Res 1984; 20: 109–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Waldinger MD, Schweitzer DH . Changing paradigms from a historical DSM-III and DSM-IV view toward an evidence-based definition of premature ejaculation. Part II—proposals for DSM-V and ICD-11. J Sex Med 2006; 3: 693–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was financed by grant no. 210298 from the Academy of Finland and a Centre of Excellence Grant from the Stiftelsen för Åbo Akademi Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P Jern.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jern, P., Santtila, P., Johansson, A. et al. Evidence for a genetic etiology to ejaculatory dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 21, 62–67 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2008.61

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2008.61

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links