How common is erectile dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction’s symptoms are various. Some men experience a permanent inability to attain an erection, some experience only a temporary inability to achieve an erection. ED can also cause an inability to sustain an erection for long enough. This diversity of severity of ED symptoms makes it hard to estimate how many men actually suffer from erectile dysfunction. Men are ashamed of the disease and do not want to discuss this matter with the doctor. That is why many cases of the disease are under-diagnosed. After all, experts were able to estimate the approximate number of men suffering from the disease - this number amounts to 30 million men in the USA.
ED may affect young men as well as the older ones but the disease is more common among older men. Before the age of 45 almost every man has experienced erectile dysfunction at least once. According to the research, the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, the percentage of patients suffering from complete erectile dysfunction among 40-year-old men is about 5%, but among men in their seventies the percentage amounts to 15%. According to the studies made in Netherlands about 20% of men between ages 50 to 54 suffer from some degree of ED. In a group of 70 to 78 year-old-men the percentage raised to 50%. According to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey made in 1999 there were 1,520,000 doctor-office visits concerning erectile dysfunction problems.