Diabetic men prone to severe erectile dysfunction if they do not control blood sugar levels, Brazilian study shows

The researchers tested the blood sugar levels of 115 diabetic men, some of whom had maintained healthy levels and others who had not. Of those with high blood sugar, 46 percent said they had severe erectile dysfunction. Only 18 percent of those with healthy blood sugar levels had severe erectile problems.

Overall, the high sugar group had 3 percent more cases of erectile dysfunction – severe or otherwise – than the healthy blood sugar group.

The study also found that severe problems only occurred in men who had been diabetics for more than five years.

• A study suggested that poor sugar control in diabetic men may worsen their erectile function.
• Blood samples from the subjects were tested for glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to evaluate the long-term control of blood sugar levels.
• Erectile function was evaluated through a standard questionnaire.
• It was found that among the men with relatively good HbA1c levels, 50 percent men had mild erectile function while 18 percent had severe erectile function.
• In contrast, among the men with poor HbA1c levels, 25 percent had mild condition while 46 percent men experienced severe erectile function.
• The study also found that the poor sugar control and severe erectile function only happened to those diabetic men who had diabetes for more than five years.
• The study was performed by Ernani L. Rhoden and colleagues, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
• The results were appeared in the March issue of BJU International.