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Prevalence of sexual dysfunction and pursuit of sexual medicine evaluation among male physicians—a survey

International Journal of Impotence Research (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

We sought to characterize the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and barriers to treatment among male physicians. Between June and December 2022, male physicians were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding sexual function. Surveys were disseminated electronically via social media and professional medical societies using Qualtrics (Provo, UT). In totla, 235 responses were included in the final analysis. The mean age of respondents was 36.3 ± 7.4 years (range 23–72). 27 (11.5%) reported having seen a doctor for sexual health. Of these 27, 40.7% saw a physician for erectile dysfunction, 29.6% for low libido, 22.2% for premature ejaculation, 7.4% for delayed ejaculation, and 33.3% for other concerns. An additional 29 (12.3%) considered establishing care for sexual issues but didn’t, mostly due to being too busy. 46 (19.6%) respondents reported having taken medication to improve erectile function. Therefore, in a cohort of young male physicians, 23.8% had seen or considered seeing a doctor for sexual health concerns, and nearly 1 in 5 had taken medication for erectile dysfunction. Male physicians appear to be at higher risk for sexual dysfunction than the general population and face significant and unique barriers in access to care for sexual dysfunction.

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Fig. 1: Number of respondents who saw a physician for sexual health concerns vs.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, JAH, upon reasonable request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jasmine S. Lin

  2. Department of Urology, Memorial Healthcare, Aventura, FL, USA

    Justin M. Dubin

  3. Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Jonathan Aguiar, Daniel R. Greenberg, Nelson E. Bennett, Robert E. Brannigan & Joshua A. Halpern

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  1. Jasmine S. Lin
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  7. Joshua A. Halpern
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Contributions

JL, JD, and JH conceived of the presented idea and study design. JL, JD, JA, DR, and JH contributed to the design of the survey and the collection and analysis of survey results. All authors contributed to the dissemination of the survey to respondents. All authors discussed the results of the survey and provided input on the drafted and final manuscripts.

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Correspondence to Joshua A. Halpern.

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Lin, J.S., Dubin, J.M., Aguiar, J. et al. Prevalence of sexual dysfunction and pursuit of sexual medicine evaluation among male physicians—a survey. Int J Impot Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-024-00827-4

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