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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Erectile dysfunction may be a
feature of normal aging in men, while urinary or bowel function
doesn't necessarily decline with age, according to a Dutch
study.
"I had expected that the association between urological
function and age would be stronger," Dr. Ida J. Korfage from
Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam told Reuters
Health.
Using data from more than 3,800 participants in the
European Randomized Study on Screening for Prostate Cancer,
Korfage and her colleagues assessed whether urinary, bowel, and
sexual dysfunction "and the associated bother" were part of the
"normal" aging process.
As described in the medical journal Urology, the men -- all
of whom were cancer-free -- were divided into five groups by
age: 58-61, 62-64, 65-67, 68-70, and 71 years and older.
According to the investigators, the proportion of men with
erectile dysfunction was significantly higher among older men,
with more of them reporting either that they were sexually
active but having problems with erections, or sexually inactive
because of erectile problems.
Korfage added, "I like to stress that sexual inactivity is
not necessarily the same as erectile dysfunction. Reasons for
not being sexually active can also be not being interested
(anymore) or not having a partner. Not everybody who is
sexually inactive is in need of medication."
Although urinary function was poorer and more bothersome in
older age groups, the differences between age groups were not
very great.
Bowel problems were uncommon, with no significant
differences among age groups, the report indicates.
So, when these problems are seen in older men who have been
treated for prostate cancer, they are more likely due to the
treatment rather than to age alone, the team points out.
SOURCE: Urology, July 2008.
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