Erectile dysfunction: a review of a common problem in rapid evolution.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been defined by the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference in 1993 as the inability to achieve and/or maintain an erection adequate for penetration and completion of satisfactory intercourse.1 Erectile dysfunction, the preferred term, is more accurate and less pejorative than impotence.An estimated 20-30 million American men are affected with ED of varying degrees of severity. The Massachusetts Male Aging Study published in 1994 reviewed 1,211 men between the ages of 40 and 70; 52% reported ED with 9.6% having mild, 22.2% moderate, and 17.2% complete or severe ED.2 The National Health and Social Life Survey, authored by Laumann et al.,3 reviewed a population of men and women between the ages of 18 and 59. Of note, female sexual dysfunction exceeded male sexual dysfunction, with 43% of women complaining of sexual function problems. Interestingly, except for lubrication, this seemed to decrease with age in women. On the other hand, 31% of the men complained of sexual problems that increased with age.Erectile dysfunction is an age-dependent problem. Approximately 2% of men are affected at 40 years of age and about 25% or more at 65 years of age.4 However, ED is not an inevitable result of aging. Rather, as a man matures it is most likely that he will experience more of the neurovascular insults resulting in ED.The development of an erection and satisfactory sexual function is a complex process. As suggested by Melman et al.,5 "Erection is truly at least a sensory-motor-neuro-hormonal-vascular-psycho-social-cultural-interpersonal event." There are two main classifications of ED, psychogenic and organic. Current thinking suggests that up to 80% of ED is primarily of organic etiology. Yet, there is always a psychogenic factor.6 Erectile dysfunction may signal serious underlying and potential life-threatening diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and other neurologic and endocrine disorders. Therefore, questions regarding sexual function should be part of routine medical evaluation.
Levine
LA
Department of Urology, Male Sexual Health and Fertility Program, Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA