OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the factors of perceived male infertility on men's penile erectile function.
METHODS: Using the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5), we investigated the penile erectile function among 245 infertile men (infertility group) and another 52 males having physical checkup for planned conception (checkup group), the former further divided into four subgroups according to the factors of infertility: male factor, female factor, bilateral factor, and unknown factor. We compared the total and item scores of IIEF-5 among different groups.
RESULTS: Mild or mild-moderate ED was found in 50.61% of the infertile men, with a total IIEF-5 score of 21.24 +/- 2.58. The total and item scores of IIEF-5 were markedly higher in the male factor than in the female factor subgroup (P < 0.01), but with no significant difference between the male factor subgroup and the bilateral and unknown factor subgroups (P > 0.05), except the score on confidence. The scores were significantly lower in the bilateral and unknown factor subgroups than in the female factor subgroup (P < 0.05), with no remarkable difference between the former two. In the infertility group, the total and item scores of IIEF-5 were markedly higher in those with education above high school than in those with high school or lower education (P < 0.01), but not correlated with age and infertility duration. After adjustment for education background, the total IIEF-5 score and the scores on confidence and satisfaction were significantly lower in the infertility than in the checkup group (P < 0.05), and 15.38% of the men in the latter group had mild ED, dramatically lower than in the former (P < 0.01).
CONCLUSION: Perceived infertility may cause ED in males, and a higher incidence rate is associated with lower education background of the men.
Written by:
Pan BC1, Xing X2, Li P2, Guo RH2, Du Q2, Liang X2, Wang XM3, Wang L4 Are you the author?
1Center for Assisted Reproduction, Department of Clinical Psychology, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110004, China. 2Center for Assisted Reproduction, Department of Clinical Psychology, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110004, China. 3Department of Clinical Psychology, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110004, China. 4Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, China.
Reference: Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2013 Dec;19(12):1087-90
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24432619
Article in Chinese
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