Erectile dysfunction before age 40 can indicate that a man has type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
- Researchers have found a link between erectile dysfunction and type 2 diabetes.
- According to their findings, this could be a sign of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes in men under 40.
- Knowing this link could make it possible to detect diabetes earlier and more quickly in men.
Erectile dysfunction affects just over one in ten men during their lifetime, according to health insurance. They are more common from the age of 50 but can occur at any age. According to the French Association of UrologyTHE “erectile dysfunctions are defined as erectile dysfunction, which can be at several levels, ranging from curvatures of the penis during erection to the total absence of erection making sexual intercourse impossible.”
Type 2 diabetes: a risky blood sugar level in prediabetic adults
A new study, published in the journal preventive medicineindicates that in men under 40, erectile dysfunction could be a sign of prediabetes or undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. As a reminder, people prediabetics have blood sugar levels at risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes. This disease is caused by the body’s cells misusing insulin, according to health insuranceand usually develops after 20 years. Patients with type 2 diabetes have too much sugar in the blood, a phenomenon called hyperglycemia. In France, 90% of diabetics have type 2 diabetes.according to L’National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
34% risk of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes with erectile dysfunction
To study the link between type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and erectile dysfunction, researchers studied health data collected between 2008 and 2022 from 1,915,468 patients.
Result: Scientists found that patients with erectile dysfunction had a 34% risk of having prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. In addition, 75% of patients developed prediabetes or type 2 diabetes in the year following the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction.
These results are interesting because they show that knowledge of this link could make it possible to diagnose diabetes earlier and therefore start treatment earlier. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)“early diagnosis is important to avoid the worst effects of type 2 diabetes” because “over time, type 2 diabetes can cause serious damage, especially to nerves and blood vessels.”