| Job stress taking
a toll on Thai men
April 20, 2004
HO CHI MINH CITY - Stress from longer working
hours because of the economic rebound is a major
cause of erectile
dysfunction (ED), warns Dr Apichat Kongkanand,
head of Chulalongkorn University’s Department
of Urology.
“ED incidence in Thai men continues to
increase,” said Apichat, who was part
of a panel last weekend at a medical conference
in Ho Chi Minh City to select appropriate treatment
for erectile dysfunction. The meeting was sponsored
by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly.
The Thai ED Epidemiology Study Group recently
conducted a study among 2,269 Thai men aged
between 40 and 70.
The findings suggest incidence of ED has increased
from 38 per cent of this segment of the population
in 1998 to 42 per cent last year. Despite these
figures, suggesting that ED is widespread, only
3 per cent of Thai men use modern medicine to
treat the problem – up from 1 per cent
in 1998, the study found.
Many Thai men still rely of traditional medications
extracted from plants or animals to solve their
ED problems, as they cannot afford drugs such
as Viagra,
Cialis and Levitra.
The study group was headed by Anek Hiranrak,
former associate dean of the School of Applied
Statistics at the National Institute of Development
Administration. “Our [doctors’]
duty is to inform the public that traditional
medications do not really treat ED problems,
but provide a placebo or psychological effect
and will make users feel better,” he said.
The total market for ED pharmaceuticals –
called PDE5 inhibitors – is expected to
grow 15 per cent this year in Thailand to Bt310
million. Pfizer’s Viagra dominates sales.
Cialis,
manufactured by Eli Lilly, will enter the local
market by the end of this month amid a flurry
of marketing.
“People who suffer from ED have a better
understanding of the problem,” Apichat
said.
“[And the] better educated are able to
access more information from TV, with many programmes
providing sexual
health education to viewers,” Apichat
said.
Professor Ganesan Adaikan, from the National
University of Singapore, said there were many
hurdles for these modern ED drugs to overcome
in Asia before they win general acceptance.
Hurdles include the stigma attached to taking
ED drugs and the tendency to turn to traditional
treatments and alternative medications first.
There are also concerns about safety, side
effects and high costs, along with social, spiritual
and cultural variables, misconceptions and a
lack of public awareness of sexual health.
Adaikan said most men with ED in Asia delay
going to a doctor. On average, men wait two
years before going to a doctor after they first
notice a problem.
This is generally the result of doctors not
referring patients to specialists, ED suffers
getting the wrong information, cultural gaps,
embarrassment and the belief that ED is a symptom
of growing old.
“Open discussion of sexuality issues
is still considered taboo for most Asians. People
prefer their doctors to initiate discussions
on sexuality,” Adaikan said.
Up to 90 per cent of men with ED go undiagnosed,
he said. Almost 80 per cent of Asian men prefer
to wait for their doctor to ask them about such
matters.
He estimated some 152 million men
suffering from ED in 1995, and predicted
the number would increase to 322 million in
2025.
In Asia, 86.9 million men had ED in 1995. By
2025 that number could grow to 200 million.
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
The Nation
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