Erectile dysfunction in a sample of patients attending a psychiatric outpatient department

Abstract

To assess the prevalence of erectile dysfunction among a sample of patients attending a psychiatric clinic, we administered the International Index of Erectile Function on 108 male patients attending the clinic. We also obtained sociodemographic and clinical variables from the patients. The mean age of the patients studied was 39.6 (s.d. ¼ 11.6), with a mean duration of illness of 10.24 (s.d. ¼ 8.2) years. There were 46.8% schizophrenics; other diagnoses include bipolar affective disorder, recurrent depressive disorder and substance use disorder. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction was 83%. Age, marital status, current medications and the presence of comorbid medical conditions were significantly associated with erectile dysfunction; however, only age and marital status significantly predicted erectile dysfunction. We concluded that erectile dysfunction is highly prevalent among patients attending the psychiatric clinic, as such inquiries about sexual function should be routinely carried out by clinicians.

The correlation between emotional distress and aging males’ symptoms at a psychiatric outpatient clinic: sexual dysfunction as a distinguishing characteristic between andropause and anxiety/depression in aging men

“…The prevalence of ED in Asian countries is estimated to be 7%–15% (40–49 years of age) and 39%–49% (60–70 years of age) 31. Several studies have shown a high prevalence of ED among psychiatric patients 32,33. Age is one of the important risk factors for ED.…”

Demographic and clinical correlates of sexual dysfunction among Nigerian male outpatients on conventional antipsychotic medications

“…Responses to each question are based on a man’s experience over the past 4 weeks. The IIEF has been used by previous authors in Nigeria [ 19 ] and in their study, a reliability coefficient (cronbach’s alpha) of 0.921 was obtained.…”

“…Many of the available studies were conducted among medical outpatient clinic attendees and community samples, with findings which cannot be generalized to patients in specific diagnostic groups like schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders [ 17 , 18 ]. A recent study by Mosaku & Ukpong [ 19 ] conducted among outpatients attending a psychiatric clinic in Southwest Nigeria reported a prevalence of 86.5% for erectile dysfunction, with varying prevalences reported for other forms of sexual dysfunctions. However, aside patients with schizophrenia, the study included patients diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar affective disorder, and psychoactive substance dependence, who may actually have differing patterns and prevalences of sexual dysfunction.…”

Should an inquiry about sexual health, as a reflection of vascular health, be part of routine physicals for young men? Results from an outpatient study

“…9 For that reason, raising awareness and educating physicians who treat sexual dysfunction are important, as enquiries with regard to sexual functions should be routinely carried out by clinicians. [10][11][12] The treatment of ED has been generally ignored by family practitioners. Possible explanations include family practitioners being unaware of the true prevalence of the problem, the sensitivity of raising the problem and the lack of time and lack of training of family practitioners to discuss the subject with their patients.…”