Premature ejaculation--does country of origin tell us anything about etiology?

Premature ejaculation is a common sexual problem. The etiology of this condition is unclear. It has been suggested that some racial groups may be more at risk than others. We had a clinical impression that in our unit in London, UK, there was a preponderance of men from Islamic and Asian backgrounds.

We therefore undertook a retrospective analysis of our clinic population over an eighteen-month period.

A total of 123 patients were identified with a clinical diagnosis of PE based on the DSM-IV and UK national guidelines.

Demographic and clinical data were collected retrospectively: parameters of patients seen in the previous 18 months were identified, including self-identified ethnicity and age. Patient-defined ethnicity was compared with the ethnicity of self-referring patients attending our general sexual health services (outpatients), and also with local population census data.

A total of 60% of patients were from Islamic or Asian backgrounds but 12% and 11% came from those racial groups in local population census data and our general clinic population respectively (P<0.001).

It thus appears that there is a preponderance of men from Islamic and Asian backgrounds presenting to our unit with premature ejaculation. The reasons for this are unclear. Possible mechanisms include psychosocial, familial, or genetic influences.