The Link Between Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

Erectile dysfunction is a fairly new condition that has received much media coverage over the last several years. Concomitantly, several new drugs have been developed to relieve the main feature of this ailment, the failure to produce an erection. Although drugs that treat erectile dysfunction are relatively safe, a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that users may be at higher risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

The study was retrospective and assessed 1, 410,806 males over the age of 40 from 44 different employers in the United States between the years of 1997 and 2006. All together, the frequency of sexually transmitted diseases for 33,968 men who received an erectile dysfunction drug and 1,376,838 patients who did not was measured.

Interestingly, the investigators observed that patients receiving an erectile dysfunction drug were nearly three times more likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease than those not. However, the same patients were also approximately three times more likely to develop an infection due to a sexually transmitted disease the year before an erectile dysfunction drug was initiated. Specifically, the level of HIV infection in the drug using group was dramatically higher than in the non-using group.

The data from this trial suggests that patients who initiate erectile dysfunction drugs, in an overall population, are more likely to put themselves in situations where such an infection could be contracted, irrespective of the drug itself. Erectile dysfunction drug users were more likely to contract an STD the year before therapy began. In other words, poor lifestyle choice rather than the drug therapy itself promotes the higher rate of sexually transmitted disease affliction. Additionally, the frequency of sexual intercourse was not assessed, or normalized, in the trial between the groups. The drug therapy group may have had intercourse much more frequently, thereby increasing their risk for contracting STDs even further if poor lifestyle choice and multiple partners were also in play.

The study is important for clinicians in that it suggests that patients who require erectile dysfunction drugs should receive additional sexual hygiene counseling concomitant with their prescription. Such counseling, hopefully, would educate patients on making responsible decisions in reference to their sex life.

References:

Anupam B. Jena, et, al. Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Users of Erectile Dysfunction Drugs: Analysis of Claims Data. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:1-7.