Prevalence and correlates of erectile dysfunction by race and ethnicity among men aged 40 or older in the United States: from the male attitudes regarding sexual health survey.
BACKGROUND
Most U.S. population-based estimates of erectile dysfunction (ED) prevalence restricted upper age, were not nationally representative, or underrepresented minority groups.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate, by race/ethnicity in the United States, the prevalence of ED and the impact of sociodemographic, health, relationship, psychological, and lifestyle variables.


METHODS
This cross-sectional, population-based, nationally representative probability survey conducted between May 2001 and January 2002 in the general community setting facilitated equivalent representation among U.S. non-Hispanic white (N = 901), non-Hispanic black (N = 596), and Hispanic (N = 676) men aged 40 and older by using targeted phone lists to oversample the minority populations.


METHODS
Estimated prevalence of moderate or severe ED, defined as a response of "sometimes" or "never" to the question "How would you describe your ability to get and keep an erection adequate for satisfactory intercourse?"


RESULTS
The estimated prevalence was 22.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.4-24.6) overall, 21.9% (95% CI, 18.8-24.9) in whites, 24.4% (95% CI, 18.4-30.5) in blacks, and 19.9% (95% CI, 13.9-25.9) in Hispanics, and increased with increasing age. The odds ratio increased with increasing age. Probability also increased with diabetes, hypertension, and moderate or severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) overall; age > or =70 years and diabetes in whites; severe LUTS in blacks; and age > or =60 years, moderate LUTS, hypertension, and depression in Hispanics. It decreased with exercise and college vs. less than high school education overall; with exercise, good relationship quality, and according to alcohol intake in blacks; and with high school or college education in Hispanics.


CONCLUSIONS
The odds of ED increased with increasing age across race/ethnicity when controlling for sociodemographic, health, relationship, psychological, and lifestyle variables. These initial analyses suggest further study of the interrelationships among risk factors for ED.
Laumann
Edward O
EO
Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;. Electronic address: ob01@uchicago.edu.
West
Suzanne
S
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-Women's Health Research, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Glasser
Dale
D
Pfizer, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
Carson
Culley
C
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-Department of Urology, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Rosen
Raymond
R
Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USA;; Department of Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Kang
Jeong-Han
JH
Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*