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Highlights
- Keeping track of your health can help you predict your risk of erectile dysfunction.
- Some causes, like age or neurological conditions, can only be managed, while others can be reduced or prevented.
- ED can be caused by one factor, or by multiple factors at once.
- Lifestyle changes and health management can help you minimize your ED risk.
- Prescription medication is also part of your ED treatment plan.
If you’re concerned about ED, the time to start managing it is now. Learn the 11 different predictors of erectile dysfunction, why they contribute to ED, and what you can do about them.
What Are The 11 Most Common Predictors of Erectile Dysfunction?
Some of these predictors are inevitable, others are avoidable, but all of them are manageable. You’ll also see that causes tend to intersect, and some can potentially be symptoms of others.
Also note that these are predictors, not iron-clad guarantees. Many men have healthy sex lives with these factors, thanks to knowing about their risk and taking proactive steps to mitigate it.
Here are the 11 potential predictors of ED that every man should know.
1. Age
A general rule of thumb is that your risk of ED rises about 10% for every ten years you age. However, this isn’t just due to getting older — as you get older, your risk of other predictors, such as heart disease or diabetes, goes up. A healthy lifestyle at any age will be a great help for both ED and your overall health.
2. Cardiovascular Disease
Because erections are caused by blood flowing into the penis, erectile function is a “canary in a coal mine” for cardiovascular disease, so much so that many consider early-onset ED a possible symptom of heart disease. One study, for example, found that over 60% of men with high blood pressure had at least minor ED.
3. Diabetes
A systematic review of studies found that just over 50% of men with diabetes experienced ED. Diabetes impacts your circulatory system, making it harder for blood to reach your extremities, including your penis.
4. Obesity and Other Metabolic Problems
While obesity by itself may not predict ED, obesity can be a symptom of other risk factors. For example, obesity is a major risk factor for both diabetes and heart disease, both of which can cause ED. Whether obesity is a symptom or a cause of these conditions isn’t always clear, but the link is real. Maintaining a healthy weight is a benefit no matter what.
5. Prostate Problems
The prostate is a crucial component of a man’s sexual function, and if it’s damaged due to illness, injury, or treatment, it can interfere with getting an erection. Conditions like prostatitis or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH and their treatments can also cause erection difficulties.
6. Psychological Factors
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems can be a major contributor to ED. One analysis of studies found that depression and ED often occurred together, for example, with either a possible cause of the other. Especially as men are less likely to seek mental health services, this can weigh on every aspect of your life, your sex life included.
7. Sleep Disorders
Sleeping problems can impact your health in all sorts of ways. Poor sleep can make chronic conditions worse and even cause chronic fatigue, which is an ED risk.
8. Medications
ED is a side effect of a wide range of medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines, and blood pressure medication. This can be for a variety of reasons, and the likelihood can vary widely depending on the person and medication.
9. Low Testosterone and Hormone Disorders
Testosterone is key to sexual functioning, and any man’s testosterone will decline over time, usually 1% a year every year after 30. This decline rarely leads to clinically low testosterone, but the decline can contribute to ED.
10. Neurological Conditions
Anything that affects your nerves, such as chronic conditions or serious injury, can also impact the nerve signals to your penis, which can cause or contribute to ED. If you have a family history of these conditions, and are experiencing unexplained ED, this may be a warning sign.
11. Lifestyle Factors
We all know that smoking, drinking heavily, eating poorly, and sitting around all day are bad for us. But just how bad can be shocking: Smoking alone damages almost every system of your body. Heavy alcohol consumption causes similar problems. And a sedentary lifestyle contributes to obesity and other issues. Unhealthy habits can lead to many of the conditions discussed in this article, all of which can lead to problems with erectile function.
Managing and Preventing ED Risk Factors
Unhealthy choices are at the root of many of the conditions that can cause ED, so a healthy lifestyle is the best way to combat erectile dysfunction.
- See your doctor regularly. Get regularly scheduled check-ups, and follow your doctor’s recommendations for screenings. This can help you catch chronic issues early and start treating or managing them.
- Review your prescriptions carefully. Check the side effects of your medication. In particular, look closely at the incidence of side effects like ED, and how many people experience them. If there’s a high incidence, or you’re experiencing the side effect, ask your doctor about alternatives.
- Make positive lifestyle changes. Regular exercise, a vegetable-forward diet, quitting smoking, and reducing or stopping alcohol intake are the “core four” lifestyle changes that will help you manage a wide range of risk factors for ED such as maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure.
- Manage stress and support your mental health. Taking care of your emotional well-being, and getting help when dealing with possible setbacks, can have direct benefits and help you stay on track with other lifestyle changes.
Treat ED With the Multi-Pronged Approach
If you have ED, you don’t have to accept it. Because ED can have multiple causes, the best way to treat it is with a multi-pronged approach.
Regardless of causes, lifestyle changes are recommended as first steps. These will help you manage your ED and the issues that may be causing it.
Next, focus on the causes and use the best treatments or management practices for them. Following your doctor’s treatment plan will have positive results on all side effects as well as primary symptoms.
Finally, make use of first-line treatments like prescription medications. FDA-approved ED treatments such as Viagra, Cialis, and vardenafil have been available for more than twenty years and are proven safe and effective for most men. Millions of men have made use of them as part of their treatment and management of ED.
eDrugstore Helps You Get The Right ED Medication
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To get started, visit our erectile dysfunction page today.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about health and related topics but is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Dan is a long-time freelance writer focusing on technology, science, health, and medicine, with a lifelong interest in physics, biology, and medicine. His work has taken a particular focus on scientific studies “beyond the headlines,” reading the study to more closely examine the results.