The articles looks at the relationship between erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and depression. It concludes that treating ED as a symptom of more serious conditions is an effective preventative strategy. Similarly, curing ED can be a cure of secondary depression.
This article is going to move around in time a little but, as always, to a purpose. There has been a long line of studies examining the relationship between erectile dysfunction (ED) and other conditions. In 2006, a piece of meta research was concluded, i.e. a study that examines the existing published research to look for a balance of evidence.
The theme was the relationship between endothelial dysfunction which is the most common underlying cause of ED, and hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and heart disease. It confirmed a strong signal to the medical profession that should you appear for a consultation with ED, the physician should not routinely prescribe Viagra, Cialis or Levitra. Assuming there is no obvious cause for your ED, e.g. some kind of traumatic injury, you should first go through a full screen for cardiovascular diseases including measurement of the levels of lipids and blood glucose.
Even though you may have no obvious symptoms of vascular or coronary disease, you will be treated as at risk until the contrary is proven. This will particularly apply if you are carrying excessive weight and lead a sedentary life. At the very least, you will find someone counselling you on the subject of lifestyle modification. You are also likely to be invited to go through an exercise electrocardiogram to get a better view of the level of risk. If you show reasonable strength and stamina, you will be advised to increase physical activity. Thus, in addition to treatment for the ED (probably using Viagra, Cialis and Levitra if your cardiovascular profile checks out), you will probably find yourself engaged in a preventive programme to avoid or reduce the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Similarly, there is clear evidence of the relationship between ED and depression so that if you have both of these conditions, any change or alteration in one may cause some change or modification in the other. So there are four ways in which to explain the relationship :
- The fact that they can occur at the same time is simple coincidence;
- ED may be a symptom of depression;
- ED can be a side effect of taking antidepressants; or
- Men with ED as the “primary” condition may react to the stress of losing sexual function by developing a “secondary” depression.
The accumulating evidence is that mild to moderate depression is quite common but frequently misdiagnosed among older men. Thus, ED and depression are intimately associated with the ageing process, and thereby linked to diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and heart disease, and in lifestyle, with poor general health, smoking, alcohol and substance abuse.
In 2001, there was a twelve week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at twenty urologic clinics in the USA. Men who came with symptoms of ED were screened for evidence of untreated depressive illnesses. Those who were found depressed and had suffered ED for more than six months were invited into the trial. Viagra was randomly allocated and led to marked improvement in erectile function. Furthermore, those participants who responded favourably to the treatment (including those in the placebo who showed some improvement as a result of the psychological screening process and the general commitment of resources to them), showed a clinically significant relief of depressive symptoms and improvement in the quality-of-life indicators as against those participants whose ED did not respond to treatment at all.
This does not mean, of course, that Viagra can be used to treat depression. But the evidence is clear. In other trials involving Viagra, the measurement of quality-of-life showed improvement in 46% of diabetic men and 72% of men with spinal cord injuries. In this caseFree Articles, 90.9% of those with untreated depression reported a significant improvement in the quality of their lives. This would seem good evidence that successful treatment of the ED removes it as a cause of secondary depression. It is not good evidence that Viagra itself (or the other PDE-5 inhibitors Cialis and Levitra) alters mood. You always have to do that for yourselves.
By : Keegan Segal
