Introduction: Compared to the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED), fewer studies have focused on the incidence of ED and even fewer have focused on nonmedical risk factors.
Aim: We examined psychosocial, demographic/socioeconomic, medical/behavioral, and sexual function risk factors at T1 (1987-1989) and development of incident ED at T2 (1995-1997).
Methods: Longitudinal population-based epidemiologic study of 814 community-dwelling men participating in the Massachusetts Male Aging Study.
Main outcome measure: ED was defined according to a validated, discriminant-analytic formula based on questionnaire responses and categorized as moderate/complete ED vs. none/minimal. Multivariate logistic regression models (odds ratios [ORs] and 95% confidence intervals [CI]) were used to estimate the association of risk factors with ED.
Results: Among 814 men free of ED at T1, 22% developed moderate/complete ED at T2 (on average, approximately 8.8 years later). In a multivariate model, sexual function variables captured at baseline were inversely associated with ED (e.g., more or similar level of sexual arousal compared to adolescence vs. less, OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.92; frequency of sexual thoughts at least two to three times weekly vs. less, OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.92) after adjustment for age, education, and other risk factors.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that in the context of other risk factors, sexual desire variables at baseline were associated with incident ED. This in turn suggests that indications of reduced function appear earlier than ED itself, and that there may be a time window for intervention before a loss of erectile function.