Evaluation of Sexual Functions in Turkish Alcohol‐Dependent Males

Abstract

It was reported that long-term and high amount of alcohol consumption cause sexual dysfunction in men. There is a lack of descriptive studies focusing on the sexual dysfunction of alcohol dependent men in Turkey. This study was conducted to evaluate sexual functions of alcohol dependent men. This descriptive study was performed at the Alcohol and Substance Research Treatment and Education Center (ASRTEC). The data was collected between 26 December 2007 and 26 December 2008. As research instruments, an interview form of 30 questions that questioned personal characteristics and was developed by researchers, and IIEF (International Index of Erectile Dysfunction) with 15 items that evaluated sexual dysfunction were used. Mean age of men was 41.22 ± 8.19; 36.5% of participants were graduated from primary school, and 57.5% were unemployed. Average daily alcohol consumption was 16.41 ± 4.90 standard alcohol. We found that 47% of alcohol-dependent men had their first sexual experience before they were 18 years old, 64.4% had multiple partners, 1.7% experienced a sexually transmitted disease, 7.7% had a chronic disease, and 18.3% had pain during intercourse. Mean total IIEF scores of alcohol-dependent men was 57 ± 9.23 (mean ED scores 23.41 ± 3.91). Therefore, 70.3% of participants had a mild (17-25), and 4.4% had a moderate (11-16) erectile dysfunction. With a multivariate analysis, predictors of erectile dysfunction in chronic alcohol dependent male were determined as age of subject, age of onset for alcohol, duration of alcoholism, and cigarette use. Chronic alcoholism affects sexual functions in men. Sexual dysfunction in alcohol addicted males is related with education level and unemployment and starting alcohol consumption at an early age and long-term cigarette smoking.