Erectile dysfunction and severity of alcohol dependence

Abstract

It was reported that long-term and high amount of alcohol consumption cause sexual
dysfunction in men. Men with alcohol dependence (AD) commonly suffer from alcohol-induced sexual
(erectile) dysfunction (ED). We aimed to assess the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in male
subjects with alcohol dependence and severity of alcohol dependence. We also aimed to assess
association between severity of alcohol dependence and erectile dysfunction. In our study Forty four
male subjects who came for treatment in psychiatric department with a diagnosis of alcohol
dependence syndrome with simple withdrawal symptoms (F10.30, ICD-10 criteria) were assessed for
erectile dysfunction by using International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and alcohol dependence
by using severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire (SADQ). In our study the mean total IIEF
score of 44 patients was 54.36. The mean erectile function score of 44 patients was 23.36. Twenty
nine patients (65.9) had erectile dysfunction. The patients were divided into three groups by SADQ
scores as mild (n2, 4.5), moderate (n24, 54.5), severe (n18, 41) alcohol dependents. Severe alcohol
dependent groups had low IIEF scores and erectile function scores than moderate and mild groups.
Onset of alcohol drinking, quantity of daily alcohol consumption and severity of alcohol dependence
were positively correlated with erectile function domain scores. We concluded that erectile
dysfunction may be much more common than is being reported in alcohol dependent males. Heavy
alcohol drinking, chronic and persistent and early onset of alcohol drinking in males have more
chances of developing erectile dysfunction.