Prevalence of erectile dysfunction and associated factors among males visiting family medicine clinics in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

BACKGROUND: The burden of erectile dysfunction (ED) among the developed countries is found to be quite high. However, there is a paucity of data among developing countries to know its actual burden and factors associated with it. METHODS: The current study is cross-sectional and was conducted in Family Medicine clinics of Liaquat National Hospital during May 2017–January 2018. A total of 450 males participated in this study with the age range of 24–77 years. More than half of the participants were graduates or above. RESULTS: On multivariable analysis, age (aOR = 5.47, 95% CI: 2.74–10.89), alcohol use (aOR = 5.23, 95% CI: 1.45–18.84), diabetes (aOR = 6.61, 95% CI: 3.27–13.36), and current smoking (OR = 2.41, 95% CI: 1.35–4.31) were significantly associated with ED. ED risk was significantly lower in those who either attended secondary school (aOR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13–0.88) or were at least graduates (aOR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.17–0.96) than illiterate when model was adjusted for other covariates. CONCLUSION: Erectile dysfunction in a Pakistani male population highlights the need for routine screening at the primary care level. There is a possibility that the actual burden is underreported due to cultural stigmatization; hence, further research is warranted to validate the findings.