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:

Assessing satisfaction in men and their female partners after treatment with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction

Abstract

The Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction (EDITS) and its partner version questionnaire were used to assess couples’ satisfaction with the use of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) over a 3-month period. Of 161 ED patients, who together with their female partners were invited to answer separate questionnaires at home, 111 patients (68.9%; mean age 61.8 (23–87) years) and female partners (mean age 52.8 (22–77) years) returned completed questionnaires. Patients reported a substantially higher treatment satisfaction score and level of satisfaction with ED treatment than their female partners (P<0.001). Patients with milder severity of ED at baseline and better erectile function after treatment were more likely to be satisfied with the outcome of the treatment. Of the different aspects of satisfaction that patients were asked about, they reported the lowest level of satisfaction about their partners’ feeling about continued treatment for ED. Our study shows that more patients than their female partners are more satisfied with medical treatment for ED. To maintain long-term therapy for ED, it is important to include female partners in the assessment and management of the therapy.

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
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. National Institutes of Health. NIH consensus development panel on impotence. Impotence. JAMA 1993; 270: 83–90.

  2. Feldman HA, Goldstein I, Hatzichristou DG, Krane RJ, McKinlay JB . Impotence and first medical and psychosocial correlates: results of the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. J Urol 1994; 151: 54–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Fisher WA, Eardley I, McCabe M, Sand M . Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a shared sexual concern of couples I: couple conceptions of ED. J Sex Med 2009; 6: 2746–2760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Fisher WA, Rosen RC, Eardley I, Sand M, Goldstein I . Sexual experience of female partners of men with erectile dysfunction: the Female Experience of Men’s Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality (FEMALES) Study. J Sex Med 2005; 2: 675–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Greenstein A, Abramov L, Matzkin H, Chen J . Sexual dysfunction in women partners of men with erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 2006; 18: 44–46.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Moncada I, Martinez-Jabaloyas JM, Rodriguez-Vela L, Gutiérrez PR, Giuliano F, Koskimaki J et al. Emotional changes in men treated with sildenafil citrate for erectile dysfunction: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Sex Med 2009; 6: 3469–3477.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Chevret-Méasson M, Lavallée M, Troy S, Arnould B, Oudin S, Cuzin B . Improvement in quality of sexual life in female partners of men with erectile dysfunction treated with sildenafil citrate: findings of the Index of Sexual Life (ISL) in a couple study. J Sex Med 2009; 6: 761–769.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. McCabe MP, O’Connor EJ, Conaglen JV, Conaglen HM . The impact of oral ED medication on female partners’ relationship satisfaction. J Sex Med 2011; 8: 479–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Fisher WA, Rosen RC, Mollen M, Brock G, Karlin G, Pommerville P et al. Improving the sexual quality of life of couples affected by erectile dysfunction: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of vardenafil. J Sex Med 2005; 2: 699–708.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Jiann BP, Yu CC, Su CC, Tsai JY . Compliance of sildenafil treatment for erectile dysfunction and factors affecting it. Int J Impot Res 2006; 18: 146–149.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Klotz T, Mathers M, Klotz R, Sommer F . Why do patients with erectile dysfunction abandon effective therapy with sildenafil (Viagra®)? Int J Impot Res 2005; 17: 2–4.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Dean J, Rubio-Aurioles E, McCabe M, Eardley I, Speakman M, Buvat J et al. Integrating partners into erectile dysfunction treatment: improving the sexual experience for the couple. Int J Clin Pract 2008; 62: 127–133.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Dean J, de Boer B-J, Graziottin A, Hatzichristou D, Heaton J, Tailor A . Erectile dysfunction and sexual satisfaction: new perspectives. Eur Urol Suppl 2006; 5: 759–760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hackett GI . What do patients expect from erectile dysfunction therapy? Eur Urol Suppl 2002; 1: 4–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Cappelleri JC, Althof SE, Siegel RL, Stecher VL, Tseng L-J, Duttagupta S . Association between the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction and the Self-Esteem and Relationship Questionnaire following treatment with sildenafil citrate for men with erectile dysfunction. Value Health 2005; 8 (Suppl 1): S54–S60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Lewis R, Bennett CJ, Borkon WD, Boykin WH, Althof SE, Stecher VJ et al. Patient and partner satisfaction with Viagra (sildenafil citrate) treatment as determined by the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire. Urology 2001; 57: 960–965.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Gil A, Martinez E, Oyagüez I, Palacios G, Rejas J . Erectile dysfunction in a primary care setting: results of an observational, no-control-group, prospective study with sildenafil under routine conditions of use. Int J Impot Res 2001; 13: 338–347.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Hassan A, El-Hadidy M, El-Deeck BS, Mostafa T . Couple satisfaction to different therapeutic modalities for organic erectile dysfunction. J Sex Med 2008; 5: 2381–2391.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Heiman JR, Talley DR, Bailen JL, Oskin TA, Rosenberg SJ, Pace CR et al. Sexual function and satisfaction in heterosexual couples when men are administered sildenafil citrate (Viagra®) for erectile dysfunction: a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. BJOG 2007; 114: 437–447.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Rosen RC, Cappelleri JC, Smith MD, Lipsky J, Peña BM . Development and evaluation of an abridged, 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) as a diagnostic tool for erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 1999; 11: 319–326.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Althof SE, Corty EW, Levine SB, Levine F, Burnett AL, McVary K et al. EDITS: development of questionnaires for evaluating satisfaction with treatments for erectile dysfunction. Urology 1999; 53: 793–799.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Cappelleri JC, Rosen RC . The Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM): a 5-year review of research and clinical experience. Int J Impot Res 2005; 17: 30–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Braun M, Wassmer G, Klotz T, Reifenrath B, Mathers M, Engelmann U . Epidemiology of erectile dysfunction: results of the ‘Cologne Male Survey’. Int J Impot Res 2000; 12: 305–311.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Carrier S, Brock G, Casey R, Tarride JE, Elliott S, Dugré H et al. Treatment satisfaction with sildenafil in a Canadian real-life setting. A 6-month prospective observational study of primary care practices. J Sex Med 2007; 4: 1414–1421.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Jiann BP, Yu CC, Tsai JY, Wu TT, Lee YH, Huang JK . What to learn about sildenafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction from 3-year clinical experience. Int J Impot Res 2003; 15: 412–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Althof SE, Buvat J, Gutkin SW, Belger M, Stothard DR, Fugl-Meyer AR . Sexual satisfaction in men with erectile dysfunction: correlates and potential predictors. J Sex Med 2010; 7: 203–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Gralla O, Knoll N, Fenske S, Spivak I, Hoffmann M, Rönnebeck C et al. Worry, desire, and sexual satisfaction and their association with severity of ED and age. J Sex Med 2008; 5: 2646–2655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Althof SE . When an erection alone is not enough: biopsychosocial obstacles to lovemaking. Int J Impot Res 2002; 14 (Suppl 1): S99–S104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Basson R, Berman J, Burnett A, Derogatis L, Ferguson D, Fourcroy J et al. Report of the international consensus development conference on female sexual dysfunction: definitions and classifications. J Urol 2000; 163: 888–893.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Riley A . The role of the partner in erectile dysfunction and its treatment. Int J Impot Res 2002; 14 (Suppl 1): S105–S109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Salonia A, Montorsi F, Maga T, Bua L, Giorgio G, Luigi B et al. Patient-partner satisfaction of sildenafil treatment in evidence-based organic erectile dysfunction. J Urol 1999; 161 (Suppl 4): 213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Ichikawa T, Takao A, Manabe D, Saegusa M, Tanimoto R, Aramaki K et al. The female partner’s satisfaction with sildenafil citrate treatment of erectile dysfunction. Int J Urol 2004; 11: 755–762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Jiann BP, Su CC, Yu CC, Wu TT, Huang JK . Risk factors for individual domains of female sexual function. J Sex Med 2009; 6: 3364–3375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Chevret M, Jaudinot E, Sullivan K, Marrel A, De Gendre AS . Quality of sexual life and satisfaction in female partners of men with ED: psychometric validation of the Index of Sexual Life (ISL) questionnaire. J Sex Marital Ther 2004; 30: 141–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Conaglen HM, Conaglen JV . Couples’ reasons for adherence to, or discontinuation of, PDE type 5 inhibitors for men with erectile dysfunction at 12–24-month follow-up after a 6-month free trial. J Sex Med 2012; 9: 857–865.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. DiBenedetti DB, Gondek K, Sagnier PP, Kubin M, Marquis P, Keininger D et al. The treatment satisfaction scale: a multidimensional instrument for the assessment of treatment satisfaction for erectile dysfunction patients and their partners. Eur Urol 2005; 48: 503–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a research grant from Pfizer Inc.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B-P Jiann.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Huang, ST., Jiann, BP. Assessing satisfaction in men and their female partners after treatment with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 25, 178–182 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2013.8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2013.8

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links