Researchers have found that depression may play a role in erectile dysfunction (ED), or impotence. They found that ED is nearly twice as likely in men with depressive symptoms compared with those without such symptoms.
"It has always been assumed that affective states such as depression play a role in sexual function," said Andre B. Araujo, BA, and his colleagues, whose study appears in the July-August issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. "However, this is the first study to address this issue rigorously."
The study used baseline data from Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS) to examine the association between ED and depressive symptoms. MMAS was conducted by New England Research Institutes from 1986 to 1989 and is a community-based study of health status, sexual activity, and related variables. MMAS was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders.
Data were collected on 1,709 men in the baseline phase of MMAS. Men were interviewed in their homes. Information was obtained on various demographic, physical, and lifestyle factors, health status, medication usage, hormone values, and sexual behavior.
Results from the current study were based on a fixed sample of 1,265 men aged 40-70 with complete data on ED and depressive symptoms.
The researchers found that even after accounting for factors commonly associated with ED, such as age and health status, moderate to complete ED is almost twice as likely in those who exhibit depressive symptomatology compared to those who do not.
Because this study was based on data collected at one point in time, the findings should be interpreted with caution. "At this point, we are unable to determine the temporal association between the two conditions," state the authors. "Thus, we can only recommend that clinicians with patients who present with erectile difficulty should consider screening for depression and those with patients who present with depression should consider screening for ED." Research designed to sort out this issue is currently underway at New England Research Institutes.
The research team also included Rich Durante, PhD, Henry A. Feldman, PhD, and John B. McKinlay, PhD, from New England Research Institutes and Irwin Goldstein, MD, from Boston Medical Center.
Psychosomatic Medicine is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, published bimonthly. For information about the journal, contact Joel E. Dimsdale, MD, editor-in-chief, at (619) 543-5468.
Posted by the Center for the Advancement of Health http://www.cfah.org. For information about the Center, contact Richard Hébert rhebert@cfah.org, (202) 387-2829.
Journal
Psychosomatic Medicine