Objective: Although erectile dysfunction is today considered as a frequent disease, few patients actually seek for medical advice and take medication. The purpose of the study was therefore to analyse use and behaviour of men with erectile dysfunction.
Material and methods: The study, performed between the 12th April and the 21st May 2002, involved 10,000 men 18 to 70 years old and consisted in self-administered questionnaires including 55 items (5099 questionnaires were eligible for analyse).
Results: Despite a high prevalence of erectile dysfunction (25%), increased with age (44% in the men aged 45 and over), the study showed that only 22.2% of men with erectile dysfunction take medical advice with 36.9% of them take medication. Men generally think erectile dysfunction is not very common in comparison to other diseases, and correlate it with stress and tiredness. However, men with erectile dysfunction (particularly those over 45) mention diseases as hypertension, prostatic and cardiovascular diseases. 94% of men would take medical advice if their problems should repeat. However, obstacles to consultation still remain for men presenting with erectile dysfunction and especially the difficulty to talk about sexuality with their physician (for 63% of men).
Conclusion: This study confirms the high prevalence of erectile dysfunction and that few men concerned actually seek for professional assistance and take medication. Moreover, it demonstrates the major contribution of the physician in opening the dialogue on sexual problems because men are frequently embarassed or afraid to discuss this sensitive topic.