Reproductive behavior and erectile dysfunction in the undergraduate university students: cross-sectional study

Very little is known about erectile function (EF) and its associated predictors in the university students. The aim was to quantify the prevalence and some associated predictors of EF in a large sample of the university students from the largest National University in Kazakhstan.

At Kazakh National University, 1556 male students aged 16 to 23 years filled in anonymous self-administered web-based questionnaire on their sexual and reproductive behavior, including the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) in 2023. We report age-specific prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED), defined as IIEF-5 below 22 and the association of IIEF-5 score with selected predictors in adjusted regression models.

At least one sexual intercourse was reported by 1306 (84%) students with the first coitus at the median age 17 (interquartile range (IQR) 17; 19) years; and 10% students reported only one ever intercourse. The median number of partners in the preceding 12 months was 1 (IQR 1; 2), but 27% reported they planned to have a child in the next 2 years (100% of 16-17-year-old and 0% of 19-20-year-old students). IIEF-5 score ranged from 21 to 25 (median 25, IQR 21; 25), and was negatively associated with age, independent of ethnicity, place of residence, number of partners and other predictors. No ED was reported by 63% (N = 827), whereas mild ED prevalence was 37% (N = 479) among students who had at least one intercourse.

The overall prevalence of ED was very low and associated with age. Preventive interventions in place are likely efficient, but future research should focus on previously unmeasured sexual behavior attributes.