title: Erectile dysfunction in diabetic subjects in Italy. Gruppo Italiano Studio Deficit Erettile nei Diabetici.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to analyze the prevalence and risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with diabetes in Italy in a cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eligible for the study were men aged 20-69 years with a diagnosis of IDDM or NIDDM who were observed on randomly selected days in 178 diabetes centers in Italy. ED was defined as a failure to achieve and maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 9,868 diabetic men interviewed, 3,534 (35.8%) reported ED. The prevalence increased with age, from 4.6% in men aged 20-29 to 45.5% in those aged > or =60 years (test for trend, P = 0.0001). After taking into account the confounding role of age, men with NIDDM reported ED less frequently than did men with IDDM (odds ratio [OR], 0.7; 95% CI 0.6-0.8). In comparison with men reporting diabetes lasting < or =5 years, the ORs for ED were 1.3 and 2.0 for subjects with diabetes lasting 6-10 and 11-30 years, respectively. In comparison with men with good metabolic control, the ORs for ED were 1.7 and 2.3 in men with fair and poor control, respectively. A history of diabetes-related arterial, retinal, or renal diseases and neuropathy was associated with an increased risk of ED. Finally, in comparison with never-smokers, the ORs for ED were 1.5 (95% CI 1.3-1.6) for current smokers and 1.4 (95% CI 1.3-1.6) for ex-smokers. The OR increased with number of cigarettes smoked per day: in comparison with men smoking <12 cigarettes per day, the OR was 1.5 (95% CI 1.3-1.7) for those smoking > or =30 cigarettes day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study offers a quantitative estimate of the prevalence of ED and of its main risk factors in Italian men with diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra Malattie Metaboliche, Università di Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fedele
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coscelli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Santeusanio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bortolotti
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chatenoud
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Colli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landoni
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parazzini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications*; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors