Sexual dysfunction in the diabetic patient.

The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing at an alarming rate, and diabetic men already make up a quarter of the men in our own specific medically-oriented population of erectile dysfunction. The incidence of sexual dysfunction in men with diabetes approaches 50%, and this is only slightly lower in diabetic women. Hypertension is a frequent risk co-factor, being seen between 40% and 60% of diabetics in the literature. Obesity and hyperlipidemia are other frequent co-factors. Interestingly, these risk factors are the same as those for coronary artery disease. The final common pathway for most of these factors is endothelial cell dysfunction.