Premature ejaculation: bother and intravaginal ejaculatory latency time in Iran

Area of Science:

• Sexual Medicine
• Urology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Complaints of premature ejaculation (PE) and their consequences are influenced by cultural factors.
• Understanding the objective measures and subjective impact of PE is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the measured intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) in patients with self-diagnosed PE.
• To assess the impact and bother associated with PE in Kermanshah, Iran.
• To evaluate the correlation between IELT and patient-reported bother.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 3,458 patients with self-diagnosed PE underwent psychosocial and sexual history assessment.
• Patients self-rated PE-specific bother and measured their IELTs over 2-3 weeks.
• Data on measured IELTs and bother scores were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• The mean age of patients was 34.1 years, with 60.8% reporting primary PE.
• A significant portion (75.5%) of patients reported IELTs of 2 minutes or less.
• A strong negative correlation (r = -0.607) was found between shorter IELTs and higher bother scores.

Conclusions:

• PE has a substantial negative impact, with shorter IELTs causing greater distress.
• A considerable number of patients self-diagnosing with PE have IELTs exceeding 2 minutes, suggesting a need for revised diagnostic criteria.
• The median is the most suitable statistical measure for reporting IELT in PE patients, and current percentile-based diagnostic cutoffs may be inadequate.