Poor Sleep Quality is an Independent Risk Factor for Acquired Premature Ejaculation

To determine the role of poor sleep quality as a risk factor for acquired premature ejaculation (APE) after considering the various risk factors, such as ages, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), anxiety, depression, and erectile dysfunction.

This study presents a multivariate analysis to identify risk factors for PE, including the covariate of age, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) score, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score, International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Acquired PE was defined as self-reported intravaginal ejaculation latency time ≤3 minutes, and poor sleep quality was diagnosed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index tool.

A total of 349 men were enrolled in the study after completing the questionnaires and the medical history survey. Among 349 men, 203 individuals (58.17%) suffered from acquired PE. The IIEF-5 score, IPSS, GAD-7 score, PHQ-9 score, and PSQI score of the population with PE were significantly different from the non-PE group. Further multivariate analysis showed that erectile dysfunction, depression, severe prostatitis-like symptoms, and poor sleep quality were high-risk factors of APE. Additionally, our study showed that premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) score was associated with IPSS/GAD-7/PHQ-9/PSQI scores positively and associated with IIEF-5 scores negatively. The stratified analysis of sleep quality showed that APE patients with different sleep qualities have different prevalence rates of anxiety, depression, prostatitis-like symptoms, and erectile function.

In general, sleep quality may be a potential risk factor for patients with acquired premature ejaculation. Our research revealed the impact of sleep quality on premature ejaculation and provided new viewpoints for further understanding and perfecting the pathogenesis of premature ejaculation.