KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - About one-third of older men who are impotent (with erectile dysfunction) will experience natural remission, with symptoms becoming less severe but not necessarily going away completely, researchers suggest.
However, they also estimate another third will experience a worsening of this condition over time.
Erectile dysfunction, which affects more than 150 million men, has received increased attention in recent years due to its high prevalence and the development of effective treatments, such as Viagra, doctors note in the Journal of Urology. However, little is known about the natural course of erectile dysfunction after onset.
To investigate, researchers analysed data for 401 men between 40 and 70 years old with varying degrees of erectile dysfunction who were followed for about nine years as part of the longitudinal Massachusetts Male Ageing Study.
Dr Thomas G. Travison from New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Massachusetts, said "the key and most surprising" observation was the proportion of men who exhibited natural erectile dysfunction remission.
Symptoms of erectile dysfunction improved during follow-up in a total of 141 men or 35 per cent.
However, of 323 subjects with minimal or moderate erectile dysfunction, 107 (33 per cent) experienced a worsening of erectile dysfunction symptoms. Of 78 men with complete erectile dysfunction, 45 (58 per cent) still had complete dysfunction at the end of follow-up.
The chance of remission seemed to decline with age and be lower among heavier subjects.
Additionally, smoking and poorer general health were linked to worsening of erectile dysfunction symptoms.
"The most important implication of this work," Dr Travison noted, "is that it confirms that maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle as one gets older is critical for maintaining, and in some cases improving, male sexual function."
- REUTERS
