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.

  • Paper
  • Published:

Erectile dysfunction in general medicine practice: prevalence and clinical correlates

Abstract

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common problem in general medical practice affecting especially the elderly and those with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. A study was undertaken by questionnaire distributed to consecutive adult male attendees at 62 general medical practices. 1240 completed questionnaires were available for analysis. The mean age of participants was 56.4 y (range 18 – 91 y). 488 men (39.4%) reported ED: 119 (9.6%) ‘occasionally’, 110 (8.9%) ‘often’, and 231 (18.6%) ‘all the time’ (complete ED). Among 707 men aged 40–69 y 240 (33.9%) reported ED and 84 (11.9%) had complete ED. The prevalence of complete ED increased with age, rising from 2.0% in the 40 – 49 y age group to 44.9% in the 70–79 y age group. Only 11.6% of men with ED had received treatment. Hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and diabetes mellitus were frequently associated with ED. 40% of diabetic men aged 60 y or older had ED all the time.

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

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

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

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chew, K., Earle, C., Stuckey, B. et al. Erectile dysfunction in general medicine practice: prevalence and clinical correlates. Int J Impot Res 12, 41–45 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3900457

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3900457

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links