Abstract:
Background:- Diabetes is an established risk factor for erectile dysfunction in men, as a
threefold increased risk of erectile dysfunction was documented in diabetic men. Erectile
dysfunction is more prevalent in men with Diabetes mellitus (35-90%), as compared with
nondiabetic men. Men experiencing this sexual disorder have demonstrated severe deficits in
their overall quality of life.
Objective:- To determine the prevalence and determinants of erectile dysfunction among
diabetic patients attending selected governmental hospitals, Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia
from September 1 to December 30, 2020.
Methods:- A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1 to
December 30, 2020, in three selected public hospitals. A total of three hundred twenty
diabetic patients, selected by the consecutive sampling method. Socio-demographic, clinical,
lifestyle characteristics were collected with a structured questionnaire, data regarding
erectile function using the International Index of Erectile Function-5. Moreover, fasting
blood glucose and lipid levels were measured by A25 BioSystems clinical chemistry analyzer.
The data were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences-20.
Logistic regression was applied to identify an association between explanatory variables and
the outcome variable. An adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and p-value less
than 0.05 was computed to determine the level of significance.
Results:- Out of 320 study participants,233(72.8%) had erectile dysfunction. Multivariate
analysis confirmed that age group of 40-49 years (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]= 5.913,
95%CI:2.086-16.760), alcohol consumption (AOR=3.78495,95%CI:1.884-7.60), chat
chewing (AOR=2.440,95%CI:1.281-4.64),antihypertensive drug(AOR= 5.716 95%,CI:1.566
20.859),abnormal high density lipoprotein(AOR=2.371,95%CI:1.230-4.57),high total
cholesterol(AOR=2.971,95%CI;1.329-6.645), poor glycemic control (AOR =2.676; 95%
CI:1.405–5.098) were a significant predictor for erectile dysfunction.
Conclusion and recommendation: This study confirms the high prevalence of erectile
dysfunction in diabetic male patients in study settings. Thus, clinicians need to consider
preventive measures along with working on the downregulation of the offending agent of
patients in the study area. However; the authors also believe that there is a need for further
community based and case control studies on the current topic
