The list of symptoms of Covid-19 is getting longer every day: to the “classic” symptoms (cough, fever, fatigue, headaches…) are sometimes added more surprising symptoms – chilblains, blue toes, loss of smell or “phantom odors”, “mental fog”…
Researchers at the University of Rome (in Italy) may have just discovered a new symptom of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus: erectile dysfunction.
The Italian researchers worked from medical data (collected between April 2020 and May 2020) concerning a group of 100 male volunteers: among the participants, 25 men tested positive for Covid-19.
Erectile dysfunction is also a risk factor for Covid-19
Scientists found that the prevalence of erectile dysfunction was higher in men with Covid-19 (28% versus 9.3%), regardless of other risk factors such as age or body mass index. They also found that suffering from erectile dysfunction increased the risk of developing infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
“Given the high transmissibility of the infection and the higher contagion rates in older men, this is a worrying phenomenon for a large proportion of affected patients.“says Dr. Andrea Sansone, lead author of this study.
Covid-19 and erectile dysfunction: how to explain this astonishing link? According to several recent studies, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus could be responsible for poor blood circulation – thus, cases of thrombosis (blood clots), hemorrhages or even cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke, etc.) have been reported in patients with Covid-19. However, a lack of vascularization can be the cause of erectile dysfunction… CQFD.
This work was published in the scientific journal Andrology.
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