Prevalence and predictors of erectile dysfunction in adult male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION@#Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a serious global burden that affects men as well as their partners. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of ED among male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor, Malaysia.@*METHODS@#We conducted a cross-sectional study of Malaysian men aged ≥ 18 years attending two major outpatient clinics in Johor Bahru and Segamat in Johor, Malaysia, between 1 January 2016 and 31 March 2016. Subjects were chosen via simple random sampling and 400 patients were recruited. The study instrument was a survey form that consisted of three sections sociodemographic and comorbid profile, validated English and Malay versions of the 15-item International Index of Erectile Function, and the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale.@*RESULTS@#The overall prevalence of self-reported ED was 81.5%. The prevalence of ED according to severity was as follows mild (17.0%), mild to moderate (23.8%), moderate (11.3%) and severe (29.5%). Multivariate analysis showed that ED was associated with increasing age (odds ratio [OR] 4.023, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.633-9.913), Indian as compared to Malay ethnicity (OR 3.252, 95% CI 1.280-8.262), secondary as compared to tertiary education (OR 2.171, 95% CI 1.203-3.919), single as compared to married status (OR 6.119, 95% CI 2.542-14.734) and stress (OR 4.259, 95% CI 1.793-10.114).@*CONCLUSION@#ED has significant prevalence and severity among adult male outpatient clinic attendees in Johor. Increasing age, Indian ethnicity, lower educational level, singlehood and stress were significant predictors of ED.