Impairment Assessment of Male Sexual Dysfunction

Abstract

Abstract Impairment assessment of male sexual dysfunction using both the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Fifth and Sixth Editions, must be done with appropriate evaluation and objective findings in order to support ratable sexual dysfunction. The fifth edition specified that the absence of sexual functioning results in a maximum rating of 20% whole person impairment (WPI); in the sixth edition, the maximum is 15%. In the AMA Guides, Fifth and Sixth Editions, sexual dysfunction is discussed in Chapter 7, The Urinary and Reproductive Systems, and in Chapter 13, The Central and Peripheral Nervous System. In the fifth edition, Section 7.7, Male Reproductive Organs, provides guidance for impairment percentages for male reproductive organs for men aged 40–65 years; age adjustment is made for males younger than 40 (WPI is increased 50%) and older than 65 (WPI is decreased 50%). Section 13.7d, Sexual System Neurologic Impairments, in the fifth edition of the AMA Guides directs evaluators to use Table 13-21, Criteria for Rating Neurologic Sexual Impairments. In the sixth edition, Section 7.7 similarly offers guidance for impairment percentages for male reproductive organs for men aged 40–65 years but, unlike the fifth edition, allows a 10% upward or downward adjustment at the evaluator's discretion based on the individual's age and level of premorbid sexual functioning. In the sixth edition, Table 7-6, Criteria for Rating Permanent Impairment Due to Penile Disease, presents four classes and three grades.