Are There Adverse Events after the Use of Sexual Enhancement Nutrition Supplements? A Nationwide Online Survey from Japan

Abstract

Dozens of safety alerts for sexual enhancement and weight loss dietary supplements have been launched from the government not only in Japan but also overseas. However, adverse events have been reported only for the use of weight loss supplements, and the prevalence of use and adverse events in sexual enhancement supplements is not known in Japan. To address this issue, we assessed the situation of sexual enhancement supplement use through a nationwide online survey. The prevalence of sexual enhancement supplement use among males was 23.0%. Use of these supplements was higher among younger people than among older people (p < 0.001). In total, 17.6% of users had experienced adverse events, but 58.3% of them did not consult about the events with anybody because of the temporality of their symptoms and their sense of shame. In addition, eight supplement products were found to be possible adulterated supplements in this survey. It is necessary to inform the public about the risk of sexual enhancement supplement use and also prepare a place for consultation on media channels that younger people are more familiar with, in order to monitor adverse events while also preserving their privacy.

Drug adulteration of sexual enhancement supplements: a worldwide insidious public health threat

“…Regulatory authorities and academic scholars occasionally intercept adulterated supplements for sexual enhancement [4,7,8,10,12,13,36]. Not surprisingly, the main adulterants are approved PDE5-is [16].…”

“…Examples in the literature Data from surveys, pharmacovigilance databases and safety alerts In 2019, one out of five men consuming sexual enhancement supplements experienced adverse effects in Japan [4]. Nevertheless, approximately six out of ten men facing such effects never consulted a physician due to shame.…”

“…The specific prevalence in men younger than 50 years ranges from 30 to 40% [2]. In 2019, national surveys revealed that 1/5 and 1/4 of these men resorted to dietary supplements (DSs) for sexual enhancement in France [3] and Japan [4], respectively. Globally, the use of these DSs, usually labelled “natural” [5], is common.…”

Development of a detector tube for screening tadalafil and its analogues in adulterated sexual enhancement products

“…Sexual enhancement products, such as dietary supplements that claim to improve sexual performance, are readily available on the market. According to a nationwide Japanese online survey reported in 2019, the prevalence of sexual enhancement supplement use among male supplement users was 23.0%, of whom, 17.6% had experienced adverse events 3 . Most of these products are labeled as “derived from natural sources”; however, some are adulterated with PDE‐5i 4 .…”

“…According to a nationwide Japanese online survey reported in 2019, the prevalence of sexual enhancement supplement use among male supplement users was 23.0%, of whom, 17.6% had experienced adverse events. 3 Most of these products are labeled as "derived from natural sources"; however, some are adulterated with PDE-5i. 4 These products contain not only approved active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for the treatment of ED, such as sildenafil, but also the structural analogues of these APIs, [5][6][7] of which, over 80 analogues have been reported as adulterants.…”