Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in Asian populations: a meta-analysis

We searched for published studies on the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in Asian populations, through Medline, PubMed, PsychInfo and scanned through reference lists. Data on prevalence rates were obtained and summarized for each Asian region, and were used to calculate pooled prevalence estimates using fixed and random effects models. As significant heterogeneity existed in certain age group categories, the random effects model was preferred. Twenty general population studies were identified. Six studies were eligible to be entered into the pooling of results, and provided 8653 subjects for analysis. The prevalence of ED increased with age. Pooled random effects age-specific prevalence rates were 15.1% (12.2-18.1), 29.6% (19.7-39.6), 40.6% (23.6-57.7), 54.3% (36.0-72.6) and 70.0% (62.3-77.7) for age groups 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69 years, respectively. Homogeneity of results in age groups 20-29 and 60-69 years suggested equally low and high prevalences of ED across Asian regions in these age groups, respectively. The overall reported prevalence in individual studies ranged from 2 to 81.8%. Prevalence rates and related information were summarized for each Asian region and for each study.