Erectile dysfunction (ED) is more prevalent among HIV-infected men than those without HIV, according to new research from Europe.
This prevalence applies to mild, moderate, and severe ED and affects HIV-infected men of all age groups.
Researchers compared the prevalence of ED among two groups of young to middle-aged men, one HIV-infected, the other HIV-uninfected.
444 HIV-infected men and 71 HIV-uninfected men participated in the study. To assess ED, researchers used the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15), a self-administered questionnaire, gathering data from the previous four weeks. Men with scores of 25 or below on the IIEF-15 were diagnosed with ED. The researchers also examined testosterone levels, anthropometric information (height, weight, and body mass index) and demographic characteristics of the men.
The researchers found that the prevalence of ED was higher among men with HIV. Younger HIV-infected men were more likely to have ED than their counterparts without HIV. For example, among men aged 30 years or younger, only 8% of the HIV-uninfected men had some degree of ED. But among the HIV-infected men of the same age, 50% of the men did.
In the oldest decade studied, ages 51 to 60, 6% of the men without HIV infection reported having ED. However, 70% of the HIV-infected men did.
The authors pointed out that patients infected with HIV often experience “age-related comorbidities” about 10-15 years earlier than those without the infection, “suggesting an accelerated aging process in this population.”
Generally, ED is more common as men get older. Seeing the higher prevalence of ED among the younger HIV-infected men in the study “stresses the unique association between ED and HIV, making this condition a peculiar clinical hallmark of HIV infection per se.”
The researchers suggest that early-onset ED should be a consideration for healthcare providers who treat men with HIV, even if these patients are young or middle-aged.
Resources
HealthDay via Medical Xpress
“Erectile dysfunction prevalence higher in HIV-infected men”
(July 12, 2012)
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-erectile-dysfunction-prevalence-higher-hiv-infected.html
Journal of Sexual Medicine
Zona, Stefano, MD, et al.
“Erectile Dysfunction Is More Common in Young to Middle-Aged HIV-Infected Men than in HIV-Uninfected Men”
(Full-text. First published online: April 30, 2012)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02750.x/abstract