Painkillers
tied to risk of erectile dysfunction
May 12, 2006
Regardless of the reason for
taking them, painkillers classified as non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs) apparently
increase the likelihood that middle-aged and
elderly men will develop erection difficulties,
according to a new report.
NSAIDs include several widely used drugs, such
as ibuprofen or naproxen.
In trying to determine if a particular drug
causes erectile
dysfunction, it is difficult to sort out
the effects of the drug from those of the disease
for which the drug is taken, Dr. R. Shiri and
colleagues note in the Journal of Urology.
Previous reports have linked
arthritis to erectile dysfunction, but whether
NSAIDs, which are often used to treat arthritis,
caused erectile dysfunction is unclear.
"To our knowledge, there are no previous
studies on the incidence of erectile dysfunction
in relation to NSAID use, i.e. studies on the
use of NSAIDs recorded before the occurrence
of erectile dysfunction," Shiri's team,
from the University of Tampere in Finland, points
out.
Their study involved 1126 men, between 50 and
70 years of age, without erectile dysfunction
in 1994 when they completed a questionnaire
that included, among other things, questions
about erectile function and medication usage.
The questionnaire was then re-administered five
years later.
The investigators found that the erectile
dysfunction rate was 93 cases per 1000 persons
per year among NSAID users compared with just
35 cases among nonusers.
Arthritis was the most common reason for NSAID
use, and for men with arthritis the corresponding
rates of erectile disorder were 97 and 52 per
1000 person-years.
For whatever reason they were taken, NSAIDs
roughly doubled the risk of erectile dysfunction
compared with non-use. The presence of arthritis
without NSAID use increased the risk of erection
difficulty by only 30 percent, the researchers
explain, and they therefore conclude that NSAIDs
were largely to blame for the link between arthritis
and erectile dysfunction.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060512/hl_nm/erectile_dysfunction_dc_1 |
