Impotence in Younger Men Often a Sign of Diabetes
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Aug. 29, 2023 -- It's known that older men with type 2 diabetes have higher odds for erectile dysfunction, or ED. Now, new research suggests problems in the bedroom for younger men may signal undiagnosed prediabetes or diabetes.
Researchers found that men 40 and younger with ED have about a one-third increased risk for prediabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes compared to men without impotence.
The results indicate younger patients with ED should be screened for diabetes, they say.
“This indicates a remarkable ability to predict the potential onset of illness and treat it early with lifestyle or medication,” study co-author Dr. Jane Tucker said in a school news release. She's an associate professor of family and community medicine at Saint Louis University.
For the study, Tucker and her colleagues looked at the electronic health data of more than 1.9 million male patients from 2008 to 2022 and examined the links between these two conditions, at a time when 2.5% of the U.S. population has persistent, undiagnosed diabetes.
Narrowing it down to men aged 18 to 40, the researchers found that ED patients had a 34% increased risk for prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Additionally, 75% of patients developed prediabetes or type 2 diabetes within a year of ED diagnosis.
The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes declined from 1988 to 2020 in the United States. Yet about 8.5 million adults have undiagnosed diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 25% of these cases are in people ages 18 to 44.
Untreated, diabetes can have serious, life-threatening consequences. However, the disease can be controlled with medication and lifestyle changes.
The study findings appear in the September issue of Preventive Medicine.
Sources
- Saint Louis University, news release, Aug. 25, 2023
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2023
Read this next
Ozempic Lowers Odds for Death, Illness in People With Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes
FRIDAY, May 24, 2024 -- Ozempic provides a wide variety of health benefits for people with kidney disease and type 2 diabetes, a major clinical trial has found. The drug...
Costs, Side Effects Drive Folks to Quit New Weight-Loss Meds
THURSDAY, May 23, 2024 -- Three months after starting one of the new GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, more than a quarter of patients have already quit the medications, and by a year from...
Use of GLP-1 Meds Have Risen 7-Fold Among Young Americans
WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 -- The number of American teens and young adults who've been prescribed one of the new GLP-1 weight-loss drugs soared nearly seven-fold between 2020 and...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.
