Summary
- Erectile dysfunction: symptoms that can lead to serious consequences
- Analysis of the study data
- Erectile dysfunction: small symptoms, but with big consequences
- Problems related to the sexual sphere, often overlooked in general check-ups
Erectile dysfunction: symptoms that can lead to serious consequences
Problems related to sexual function can cause poor longevity
In the case of erectile dysfunction, what are the symptoms to watch
out for To answer these questions we can cite a study carried out in Belgium that received considerable publicity. The survey conducted by the European Male Aging Study involved a sample of 1913 men who were clinically evaluated from 2003 to 2005 . Over the next 15 years, 25% of the subjects who participated in the follow-up died. The researchers focused on this sample, looking for something in the previously collected data that might suggest a correlation between erectile dysfunction, confirmed by symptoms or laboratory tests, and reduced longevity. The analysis of the study data
Knowing what happened to the participants, the researchers analyzed the data collected 18 years earlier trying to find the presence of symptoms or signs that could have predicted their death.The data relating to male sexual function were easily identifiable thanks to the outcome of the visits made. Total testosterone levels cannot be considered predictive of any negative results, other than in cases where it was unusually low. Compensatory increase in FSH was predictive in only a quarter of participants. Some predictability was related to the LH increases (5.7 ± 3.3 U / L in those who died), but these levels were probably not seen during the visit. Erectile Dysfunction: Small Symptoms, But With Big Consequences The symptom analysis has yielded interesting results. Some manifestations of erectile dysfunction related symptoms were predictive of mortalitysuch as the absence or reduction of spontaneous erections, while with regard to sexual desire no difference was found between those who survived and those who died. The research protocol envisaged specific questions on the subject, from the answers of the sample of men object of the study it was therefore possible to trace data that in a normal outpatient visit may not be adequately investigated. Problems related to the sexual sphere, often overlooked in general check-ups
In general, questions relating to sexual function are addressed, during a visit, to subjects with diabetes , since we know that in their case problems relating to the sexual spherethey may be linked to an indication of vascular disease . In subjects suffering from hypertension , a condition universally recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, it is known that antihypertensive therapy compromises sexual function in a fair number of people with or without diabetes.
In men who regularly undergo a general check-up, blood pressure, anginal symptoms, blood sugar and cholesterolemia are generally evaluated, while the more subtle sexual symptoms are often underestimated. In the cases in which they are instead identified, doctors do not agree in seeking a possible correlation with concomitant, but asymptomatic, vascular diseases.
The analysis of predictable mortality more from symptoms than from laboratory tests suggests that the practice of treating symptoms without investigating the causes is not in the interest of most men.
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