More than three-quarter of Diabetic males have Erectile Dysfunction: Ganga Ram Hospital Study

More than three-quarter of diabetic males suffer from Erectile Dysfunction(ED), according to a study recently published in Current Medicine Research & Practice. The study conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital shows that 78.7 % of males with diabetes have Erectile Dysfunction(ED and a statistically significant positive correlation was found between duration of diabetes and severity of ED.

The study included 225 diabetic males between the age of 18-65 years with type 2 diabetes and 50 nondiabetic males with the same age group. The study found that 173 diabetic males (78.7% ) had some degree of ED whereas the prevalence of ED in the non-diabetic control group of 50 healthy individuals was found to be 46 %. This observational study was conducted from April 2015 to June 2017 at SGRH.

According to Dr. Atul Gogia, Author & Senior Consultant, Department of Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “ One of the interesting findings of our study was that longer the duration of Diabetes more was the risk of ED. In our study, among patients with diabetes duration less than 5 years, 43.6 % had ED with only 3.6 % having severe ED. Those with the duration between 6-10 years, 83 % had ED with 10.9 % having severe ED. In patients with diabetes duration more than 10 years, 78.6 % has ED with 16.4 % having severe ED.”

According to Dr. Atul Kakar, Author & Vice-Chairperson, Department of Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “ Erectile Dysfunction (ED) in men has commonly seen the complication in Type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is described as the condition due to which there is incompetence to accomplish and sustain erection which is needed to have satisfactory sexual intercourse. ED has the high prevalence in diabetics and occurs in early ages of the diabetic population as compared to non-diabetics.”

According to Dr. Manu Gupta, Author & Senior Consultant, Department of Urology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “ In this study, we assessed the severity of ED among male diabetics, based on Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) questionnaire. The SHIM questionnaire uses five sexual function components which include erection, orgasm, desire for sex, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction. In our study, we observed that the SHIM questionnaire was simple, user-friendly and easy to administer.”

According to Dr. M.Sondhi, Research Author in the Department of Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “ ED is often distressing and embarrassing condition not just for men who are affected but also for their sexual partners. It has a negative impact on psychological well-being and leads to marital disharmony. It has been observed in various studies that healthcare professionals do not take sexual history in diabetic males despite ED is a common complication in DM. Patients also feel shy to report ED. Our study shows that SHIM questionnaire can be easily used as a validated index of Erectile dysfunction .”

Dr Atul Kakar concluded, “Despite having Erectile Dysfunction many safer treatment options are available today for treatment of such patients. Thus patients need to report such symptoms early for effective management.”

Table 4. Distribution of cases according to the severity of ED