Ethnic differences in sexual dysfunction among diabetic and nondiabetic males: the Oxford Sexual Dysfunction Study.

INTRODUCTION: Erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation (PE), and reduced libido are common yet poorly investigated complications of diabetes especially among South Asians (SA).

AIM: To determine possible variations in prevalence and interassociations of ED, PE, and reduced libido among SA and Europids with and without diabetes.

METHOD: Men with diabetes and a randomly selected sample of age-matched nondiabetic men from 25 general practitioners in eight primary care trusts in the United Kingdom were invited to participate in a linguistically validated questionnaire-based study in English, Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi, Tamil, and Sinhala languages.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ED, assessed by International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5), PE, evaluated using the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool, and libido, assessed by asking participants to grade their desire for sexual activity.

RESULTS: Sample size was 510 (SA: 184, Europid: 326). Mean age was 56.9 ± 9.7 years. There was no difference in erectile function when assessed by IIEF between SA and Europids with diabetes (84.8% and 84.1%, respectively). The overall prevalence of PE was 28.8% (32.6% and 25.8% in those with and without diabetes, respectively, P = NS). Among men with diabetes, the prevalence of PE was 45.8% and 22.4% for SA and Europids, respectively (P < 0.001). In those without diabetes, this figure was 41.9% in SA and 20.2% in Europids (P < 0.001). There was a significant trend of increasing prevalence of PE with increasing severity grade of ED (P < 0.001). Reduced libido was reported by 26.9% men (32.8% and 22.0% in those with and without diabetes, respectively, P < 0.01), with no significant ethnic difference. The association between reduced libido and increasing severity grades of ED was also significant (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference was observed in the prevalence of ED between SA and Europid men with diabetes. PE was significantly more common in the SA men irrespective of their diabetes status.