UTH Treats 150 Men Monthly For Erectile Dysfunction
The University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) is treating about 150 men aged between 30 and 55 every month for erectile dysfunction.
UTH consultant urologist Victor Mapulanga said the major causes of erectile dysfunction include stress, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, low testosterone and prostate cancer.
“The majority of men we see in Clinic Seven are men with erectile dysfunction, and mostly, erectile dysfunction is a manifestation of a more serious illness.
“Monthly, we treat about 150 men with erectile dysfunction, including those with premature ejaculation. Every day, we see about seven to eight, which comes to about 40 to 45 per week, and in a month, it translates to just over 150,” Dr Mapulanga said.
He said the figures do not necessarily mean that the prevalence of erectile dysfunction has increased, but that the condition has become more visible because treatment is now accessible.
“It's not that the rate of erectile dysfunction has increased. It means that the clinic is established, so when you get numbers, numbers can mean two things. One, it can mean that the condition has increased, or it means that the condition was there and now the service has become accessible,” he said.
Dr Mapulanga said the hospital mainly sees men with disorders of sexual function, including those with low sexual desire (libido) and those who cannot achieve an erection.He said psychological and medical conditions are among the major causes of the disorder.
“By psychological causes, it means that someone is either stressed, depressed, anxious or they are going through any of the psychological conditions; these take away the sexual function.
“Most men suffer from erectile dysfunction due to stress. They have stress from wanting to get something that is beyond their means. Living, especially in certain parts of the country like Lusaka, is so pressuring that most men want to get something that is beyond them,” he said.
Dr Mapulanga said high cholesterol also contributes to erectile dysfunction.