Impotence Link To Rheumatoid Arthritis Discovered

important that doctors specialising in rheumatology asked about impotence

A group of scientists have conducted a study which shows that erectile dysfunction is more prevalent in men who also suffer from rheumatic disease especially those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is also known to be a risk indicator for accelerated atherosclerosis and heart disease. It is already known that erectile dysfunction is linked to vascular medical problems but this new research shows that it has an association with inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Professor Barry Sheane from the Rheumatology Research Registrar at the St. James Hospital in Dublin also explained that erectile dysfunction should be thought of as an early warning of underlying heart problems that have not become evident yet. The research was done by interviewing men at rheumatology outpatient clinics and asking them a list of questions about their health including their alcohol consumption, whether they were depressed, stressed or suffered from any other medical conditions.

The results show that 90 percent of those men aged over 65 who suffered from rheumatic disease also had erectile dysfunction which is significantly more than the normal rates of erectile dysfunction seen in this group of men. Generally around twenty percent of men in this group suffer from erectile dysfunction.  Researchers also noted that nearly all of the patients who suffer from cardiovascular disease also suffered from erectile dysfunction.

Professor Sheane said that it was important that doctors specialising in rheumatology asked their patients whether they also suffered from erectile dysfunction so that they could help in identifying those who had an additional risk of ongoing cardiovascular illnesses. In fact doctors have been advised by many medical associations to always ask about erectile function because poor erectile function is almost certainly linked to unhealthy lifestyle factors which need to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

The research was presented to the 2009 American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting.