Men with type 1 diabetes also burdened with sexual dysfunction

Orgasmic (OD) and erectile (ED) dysfunction appear to be relatively more prevalent among men with type 1 diabetes (T1D), reports a recent study.

“Increasing patient and physician awareness of factors associated with sexual dysfunction in this population may lead to increased self-efficacy and improved diabetes treatment adherence,” the researchers said. “Future longitudinal studies to characterize OD and ED as well as other domains of sexuality such as sexual desire and satisfaction in T1D are warranted.”

Of the 368 men with T1D included, 21 were found to have OD alone while 62 had both OD and ED.

Setting the remaining 303 were as controls, the researchers next sought to identify potential correlates of OD and ED. Those with OD alone were nearly three times as likely to have depression (odds ratio [OR], 2.82, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.08–7.37), as well as an almost fourfold risk of impaired sexual desire (OR, 3.74, 95 percent CI, 1.50–9.34).

In comparison, men with both OD and ED were significantly more likely to have androgen deficiency (OR, 3.53, 95 percent CI, 1.29–9.71) and lower urinary tract syndrome (OR, 3.52, 95 percent CI, 1.92–6.47). These participants also tended to be smokers (OR, 2.37, 95 percent CI, 1.10–5.09).

Important diabetes factors also correlated with concomitant OD and ED, such as nephropathy (OR, 4.04 95 percent CI, 1.53–10.64), peripheral neuropathy (OR, 2.28, 95 percent CI, 1.25–4.17) and cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (OR, 2.89, 95 percent CI, 1.57–5.32).