Sexual Health Linked to General Health
A Holistic View Shows a Man's Sexual Symptoms and Wellbeing are Link
Aug 15, 2009
There is now increasing evidence of a strong association between diseases of the male reproductive system and chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
The awareness of these relationships between reproductive health and general health in men provides windows of opportunity for doctors to perform a few simple laboratory tests to investigate male patients who consult them about, for example, conditions such as Erectile Dysfunction or Male infertility, to exclude serious conditions such as Diabetes, Heart disease and Testicular Cancer.
Links between Sexual Health and Diabetes.
Several studies have shown that Erectile Dysfunction (sometimes termed Impotence and given the acronym ED) can be an early warning sign of Diabetes – between 30 and 90 per cent of diabetic men are known to experience erectile problems. Since the early diagnosis of diabetes is made on the results of a blood test which shows elevated levels of sugar in the blood, many men with diabetes do not realise that they have the disease for the simple reason that they seldom visit a doctor and have no reason to undergo a blood test!
Diabetes is associated with ED because blood vessels in the penis are damaged by diabetes. This impedes blood flow to the penis, which makes it difficult for a man to get and maintain a hard erection. Moreover, since diabetes can be responsible for damage to nerves as well, interference with the nerves supplying the penis can also contribute to ED.
Links between Sexual Health and Heart Disease
Several research studies have clearly shown that ED is a significant early warning sign of cardiovascular disease (disease of the heart and circulatory system.) The risk of a man suffering a heart attack or stroke after developing ED is similar to that of a man who is a smoker or a man who has a parent or sibling who suffered a premature heart attack. A 2005 study demonstrated that 2% of men will suffer a major heart attack or stroke within a year of their first significant episode of Erectile Dysfunction – and this risk rises to 5% of such men within five years.
Links between Infertility and Other Diseases
In about 50% of couples who seek assisted reproductive therapy (commonly known as IVF or artificial insemination), infertility of the male partner is the sole or contributing factor. With modern techniques such as ICSI, all that is needed these days is a single motile sperm that can be drawn from the testis itself – so doctors may neglect to utilise the opportunity of investigating the male partner for other serious conditions.
It has been shown that one in eight men presenting for infertility treatment has evidence of testosterone deficiency. There is also an increased risk of testicular cancer in such men, especially those who had an undescended testis (irrespective of whether the testis was surgically brought down after birth into its correct place within the scrotum).
It is important that men (and their partners!) are made aware of the links between sexual health conditions and chronic diseases –so that they speak to their doctors early and use the opportunity to get themselves examined and tested for these diseases.
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