QUESTION: I am 53 years old and I have diabetes. I am having difficulty sustaining an erection for intercourse. Is this caused by my diabetic condition or the aging process? What can I do?
ANSWER: Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. In this case, both age and diabetes are risk factors in the development of ED.
ED is three to four times more common in diabetic men. In fact ED is found in over half of the men who have had diabetes for 10 years.
The longer the duration a person has had diabetes the more likely he will have ED. The risk increases further if there has been poor control or complications associated with the diabetes.
In addition, age is also a contributing factor. In fact, the prevalence of ED is only 9 percent in men aged 20-29 years but this rate rises gradually to more than 95 percent in men aged over 70 years.
Diabetes causes ED mainly by damaging the nerves that are responsible in transmitting the signal for erection in the penis.
The process is complex because there are additional factors like increased deposition of atherosclerosis or fats in the blood vessels that supply the penis, alteration of the muscles and tissues in the penis itself and the fact that many diabetic men also have lowered levels of the male hormone testosterone.
