ED, premature ejaculation common in prostatitis patients

Sexual dysfunction is common in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), regardless of the type of CP/CPPS they have, according to two recent studies.

In one study, investigators from the University of Science Malaysia, Penang, found that 72% of men (216 of 298) with CP/CPPS reported experiencing sexual dysfunction. Based on responses to the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF) questionnaire and selected questions from the University of Washington Symptom Score, 25% of the men with sexual dysfunction had erectile dysfunction only, 33% had ejaculatory dysfunction only, and 42% had both.

Men with sexual dysfunction had worse CP/CPPS symptoms, with a total NIH-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI) score averaging 22.4+6.9 (vs. 20.4+7.8; p=.027), and worse quality of life scores, with an average subscore of 8.5+2.7 (vs. 7.7+2.7; p=.01) than did patients who did not have sexual dysfunction.

Men with both erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction experienced worse CP/CPPS symptoms, with a statistically significant difference in their total (p=.042) and QoL CPSI score (p=.006).

"This brings us to suggest that in the future, sexual function should be used as a secondary outcome measure for future CP/CPPS studies," said first author Shaun W.H. Lee, PhD.

In a similar study of 134 men with CP/CPPS from Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, 35 were identified as having type IIIA (inflammatory) prostatitis and 99 were identified as having type IIIB (non-inflammatory) prostatitis. Among all participants, 63 (47%) had erectile dysfunction on the basis of on an IIEF score of 25 or more. The dysfunction typically was rated as moderate in 46% (26) of patients, although 25% (14) had severe dysfunction, 11% (six) had mild to moderate dysfunction, and 18% (10) had mild dysfunction, reported the authors, led by Wolfgang Weidner, MD.

Among the men with type IIIA prostatitis, 24% had erectile dysfunction, and among those with type IIIB prostatitis, 76% had erectile dysfunction. The distribution of severity of erectile dysfunction did not show a statistically significant difference.

Both studies were presented at the AUA annual meeting in Anaheim, CA.