How Common Is Erectile Dysfunction In Canada?

Erectile dysfunction is a common sexual disorder among Canadian men. This sexual disorder is linked to many chronic health problems such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and prostate cancer. Also, leading a poor lifestyle like smoking, drinking alcohol, an unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise can cause erectile dysfunction.

Difficulty getting an erection can negatively impact the quality of life of an individual, general well-being, and the beginning of relationship problems. Fortunately, it is treatable. Oral medications such as Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra can aid in reversing erectile dysfunction, we recommend https://getsmarted.co.

To understand the prevalence of the disorder in the country, first, you need to know what erectile dysfunction is and its associated symptoms.

What is Erectile Dysfunction(ED)

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to attain and maintain an erection firm enough for satisfactory sexual activity. Having an erection may seem easy, but this happens due to a precise and complex chain of events in the body. The brain triggers the nerves in the penile area to relax its muscles and allow blood flow into the penis.

Increased blood flow erects the penis, and its membranes keep the erection. Therefore, anything that interrupts this sequence of events causes the inability to have and maintain a hard erection for sexual intercourse.

Owing to the reduction of social stigma towards people living with ED and the increase in the availability of effective treatments, the number of people reporting erection problems has dramatically increased.

Men who suffer from ED have reduced blood flow into the penis, caused by many factors such as depression, medical drugs, and any underlying medical problem like hypertension and high cholesterol.

Here are the symptoms commonly found in ED:

Low confidence and self-esteem.
Reduced sexual desires.
Problem getting an erection.
Problem keeping an erection.

If a physician comes across these symptoms, he will diagnose you with ED. He may also run a physical examination and inquire about your medical history.

Also, ED may indicate an underlying health problem like heart disease, and the physician might conduct blood tests to examine other health conditions.

How Common is ED?

Image source: Pixabay.com

Erectile dysfunction is a significant and common health problem. The growing number of erection difficulties reports and diagnoses are due to effective treatments, increased advertising, and improved screening by health service providers.

Several studies being conducted attempt to assess the prevalence of ED. To help you understand the prevalence of this disorder, we discuss the prevalence of ED according to the patient’s age, the severity, and the cause.

Erectile Dysfunction By Age

Erectile dysfunction is often linked to the person’s age. ED is most prevalent in older people, but that doesn’t mean young men are not affected. In fact, every man experiences erection problems occasionally. Although having erection difficulties once in a while should not be worrying, you should see a doctor if the problem becomes common.

A cross-sectional study of about 4000 Canadian men aged between 40 and 88 found that the overall prevalence is 49.4%. This means ED is estimated to affect over 3 million Canadian men over the age of 40.

The prevalence of ED increases with age. According to Kinsey’s report, its prevalence is 1% for men under 19 years, 3% for under 45 years, 7% below 55 years, and 25% for men 75 years and above. ED in older men is usually because of the physical cause like the side effects of drugs, underlying medical problems, and injury.

If you are under the age of 40 struggling with ED, well, you are not alone. A study evaluated 439 men for ED and compared the causes and frequency in men 40 and below to those over 40. The study established that 26% of those 40 years and below had ED. Although these men were healthier and had a high testosterone level, they were most likely to smoke and use illegal narcotics.

Erectile Dysfunction By Severity

In order to understand the ferocity of ED in men, there is no other study to look at but Massachusetts Male Aging Study(MMAS). This research evaluated the severity of ED in 1290 men. Here is what they found:

52% of the subjects showed any degree of impotency
17% displayed minimal impotency
25% were moderately impotent
And 10% were totally impotent

Erectile Dysfunction By Cause

There are several causes of ED cutting across all ages. These causes may be physical, mental, overweight, heart diseases, and diabetes.

Below is a breakdown of the prevalence of the ED causes:

25% of the outpatient visitors have medication-induced ED, and hypertension drugs are the leading culprit.
The vascular disease accounts for 64% of the natural ED.
35% to 75% of men with diabetes will develop ED.
The majority(79%) with ED are obese.

Conclusion

Although older people typically suffer erectile dysfunction, a growing number of young men report cases of difficulty in getting or maintaining an erection. However, cases of ED tend to rise with age. When diagnosed with erectile dysfunction, you should look into other health problems because it usually indicates an underlying medical disorder like diabetes and heart disease. Some medical experts recommend taking foods for relieving erectile dysfunction.