Prevalence of erectile dysfunction and its correlates in Egypt: a community-based study

We evaluated the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in a cross-sectional community-based random sample of Egyptian men. ED was correlated with the socioeconomic status, risk factors and quality of life. Married men in Ismailia province were interviewed at home. Data were processed for 805 men with mean age of 43.58 y (s.d. 11.03). There is a fair correlation between ED and increasing age (< or = 0.001). Males with complete ED comprised 13.2% of the sample, 26% of men in their 50s, 49% of men in their 60s and 52% of those 70 y or older. The state of better erection correlated fairly with sexual desire and sexual satisfaction (< or = 0.01). ED was associated with living in rural areas and lower socioeconomic level (< or = 0.01), with smoking, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, liver disease, arthritis, peptic ulcer and renal disease (< or = 0.05). ED was negatively associated with good quality of life (< or = 0.001). These results indicate that ED is a common problem among married Egyptian men.