Diabetic men more prone to impotency

Diabetic men more prone to impotency

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 22, 2012

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First Published: 00:52 IST(22/9/2012)
Last Updated: 00:53 IST(22/9/2012)

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Men with diabetes are at a higher risk of erectile dysfunction or impotence, especially if their sugar levels are not well-controlled. So far, diabetes has been associated with complications of sight, heart and kidneys, but a new study shows potency complications in men with over 10 

years of diabetes. Researchers at west Delhi’s Maharaja Agrasen Hospital have studied over 200 diabetic men.

They found that at least 36% of the diabetics suffered from hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, meaning that sex glands were affected — leading to fertility complications.

“We estimate that 50-60% of men with prolonged diabetes suffer from erectile dysfunction. The study results support the belief of high prevalence of erectile dysfunction in men over 35 years of age as there is interference at brain level in the functioning of sex glands," said Dr Rajeev Chawla, a diabetologist, at the 8th Annual Conference of Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI).

“We have felt the need to recommend the ADAM score test, which will help identify androgen deficiency in every diabetic patient over 40 years of age. Based on the score, one can also conduct free testosterone tests and sex hormone binding tests to identify erectile dysfunction problems. Hormonal imbalance can be corrected," he said. The study has also been sent to the American Diabetes Association for a conference in 2013.

"For many years, erectile dysfunction has been associated to with diabetes, but there were not many studies proving it. Now that we have data, we can infer that there is a correlation, but more data is needed to study the extent of damage," said Dr BM Makkar, senior diabetologist at RSSDI.

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