Screening and managing erectile dysfunction in diabetic patients (review)

SummarySexuality is frequently affected in diabetic patients. While one man in five suffers from erectile dysfunction (ED) in the general population, ED is 4.5 times more frequently observed in diabetic patients and starts 10 to 15 years earlier than in non-diabetics. ED in diabetic patients has significant semeiological value: it shows a significant change in the diabetes and its impact on the organs. It appears today to be the most reliable indicator of micro-angiopathic complications of diabetes and an important marker of possible silent ischemia. From the outset, ED is usually associated with major relationship and emotional problems. In diabetic patients, the consequences are even more serious and responsible for a significant deterioration in all aspects of quality of life, responsible for lower tolerability to the constraints of diabetes that will sometimes have an impact on therapeutic compliance and metabolic balance. General practitioners still experience many barriers and difficulties in consistently screening ED in diabetic patients and treating it. Nevertheless, it is possible to achieve and we should improve our clinical practices to better integrate screening and treatment of sexual pathologies in our patients, especially diabetics, to go beyond their demands and propose efficacious therapeutic solutions adapted to their needs.