Sexual activity in Korean male patients on clean intermittent catheterization with neurogenic bladder due to spinal cord injury.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to assess the sexual function and activity in male patients on clean intermittent catheterization with neurogenic bladder due to spinal cord injury.


METHODS
Eighty-nine patients (mean age 37.6 years with a range of 18-66) were included in the study. We requested all subjects to complete a questionnaire including the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5).


RESULTS
Of 89 patients, 60 (67.4%) reported having attempted no sexual intercourse over the past 6 months and 28 (31.5%) presented with IIEF-5 scores less than or equal to 21 points. When subjects were stratified according to the years since injury, 50.0% (16 of 32) with less than 2 years post-injury had no sexual activity, while 77.2 (44 of 57) with 2 years or more post-injury did (P = 0.027). Patients with sexual activity were 40.4% (23 of 57) and 18.8% (6 of 32) in patients who were able and unable to perform self-catheterization, respectively (P = 0.037). Patients with less than 2 years post-injury had 3.3-fold higher risk (odds ratio 3.33; 95% confidence interval 1.01-10.97; P = 0.048) of no sexual activity than those with 2 years or more post-injury on the multivariate model. The other parameters were not appreciably related to sexual activity.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate that sexual activity as well as erectile function is poor in this population. In addition, our findings suggest that years since injury may influence sexual activity of patients with spinal cord injury.
Ku
Ja Hyeon
JH
Department of Urology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Oh
Seung-June
SJ
Jeon
Hwang Gyun
HG
Shin
Hyung-Ik
HI
Paik
Nam-Jong
NJ
Yoo
Taiwoo
T
Kim
Soo Woong
SW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D001750:Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology