Half of men with ED report premature ejaculation

Istanbul, Turkey-Nearly half of men with self-described erectile dysfunction report the occurrence of premature ejaculation either "always" or "frequently," according to data from the Men's Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality (MALES) study.

The phase II study included 3,289 men aged 20 to 75 years with self-reported ED from eight countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Brazil). The results were reported at the European Association of Urology annual congress here.

Ninety-three percent of the entire patient selection reported problems with erections, while only 7% reported a problem with ejaculation, not erection.

Additionally, participants were asked the following question: "When difficulty getting or keeping an erection occurred, how often did you experience premature ejaculation?" Fifteen percent reported "always," 29% reported "frequently," 22% reported "rarely," and 29% reported "never."

"In a cohort of men recruited for self-described ED, 44% reported always or frequently experiencing premature ejaculation, although they did not classify their problem as such," said Chris G. McMahon, MD, director of the Australian Centre for Sexual Health, St. Leonards, New South Wales, and the study's lead author. "The high concomitant prevalence of premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction suggest that questions about both of these conditions should be raised when men present with either complaint."

Range of severity reported Dr. McMahon further compared men with ED with those who suffered from premature ejaculation.

Twenty-six percent of men with ED described their problem as "mild," 46% as "moderate," and 26% as "severe." By contrast, up to 46% of premature ejaculation subjects cited the problem as mild, 44% as moderate, and 10% as severe.

Men with ED were significantly less likely to describe their problem as mild compared with men with premature ejaculation (26% vs. 46%, p<.001). Similarly, men with ED were significantly more likely to cite their problem as severe than men with premature ejaculation (26% vs. 10%, p<.001).

Moreover, the study showed that men with primarily ED were significantly more likely to be older. Conversely, men with primarily premature ejaculation were more likely to be younger (p<.001 for trend).

The MALES study, which included interviews with nearly 28,000 men in eight countries, and found a 16% prevalence of ED. The prevalence of premature ejaculation, as reported by other studies, is around 30%, making it one of the most common sexual disorders in men (Curr Psychiatry Rep 2000; 2:189-95).