The study offers a quantitative estimate of the prevalence of ED and of its main risk factors in Italian men with diabetes.

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Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects millions of men throughout the world. The literature is ample, but an accurate estimate of its prevalence is still difficult since figures mainly refer to the USA, and are based mostly on small selected samples of people. Caution must anyway be used in comparing data from studies conducted in the past because of possible differences in the definition and classification of ED. Many factors are believed to contribute to the development and maintenance of ED. The influence of age and of several medical conditions (diabetes, vascular disease, and chronic diseases such as hepatic failure, renal failure and dialysis) is well defined. Also well documented is the role of some drug groups, whereas the role of other pharmacological agents is still controversial because of the frequent coexistence of other pathological conditions or concomitant exposure to other drugs. Less well defined and sometimes controversial is the role of risk factors mainly related to life-style such as cigarette smoking, alcoholism, total cholesterol levels and certain types of trauma. This paper reviews the main data on the epidemiology of ED and some related risk factors.

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Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of potentially severe drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and their relationship with age, sex and number of prescribed drugs. Methods: We analysed all prescriptions dispensed from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 to individuals aged 65 or more registered under the Local Health Authority of Lecco, a northern Italian province with a population of almost 330 000 persons. Elderly who received at least two co-administered prescriptions were selected to assess the presence of DDIs. Results: The prevalence of potentially severe DDIs was 16%, and rose with increasing patient's age and number of drugs prescribed. At multivariate analysis, the adjusted odds ratios rose from 1AE07 (95% CI 1AE03-1AE11) in patients aged 70-74 to 1AE52 (95% CI 1AE46-1AE60) in those aged 85 or older. Elderly taking more than five drugs on a chronic basis had a statistically significant higher risk of sever DDIs than those receiving less than 3 or 3-5 such drugs. Conclusions:The elderly constitutes a population at high risk of DDIs. As physicians still have some difficulty in managing this problem, it is essential to highlight for them, which factors raise the risk of DDIs.