P-02-7 Erectile Dysfunction and Mining-Related Jobs. An Explorative Study in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

The African Copper belt is a site of intense artisanal and industrial mining and refining of copper and cobalt. Anecdotal reports of erectile dysfunction (ED) among mineworkers in the area led us to conduct an explorative study to investigate the possible association between ED and working in mining-related jobs. We included 42 consecutive men (18-40 years) buying sildenafil (the active substance of Viagra®) from a pharmacy located in a popular neighborhood in Lubumbashi, and 42 age matched (±2 years) men buying painkillers. All participants replied to questionnaires administered face-to-face to obtain sociodemographic data, including information on occupation, and a score of erectile function using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF6). The IIEF6 score (maximum 30) was lower among sildenafil-buyers (median 17, range 8-30) than among painkiller-buyers (median 30, range 17-30). The proportion of mining-related jobs was higher among sildenafil-buyers (19/42, 45%) than among painkiller-buyers (7/42, 17%), yielding an Odds Ratio (OR) of 4.1 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.5-11.3; p=0.009]. The proportion of mining-related jobs was higher among men with ED (defined as IIEF6 < 26) (24/45, 54%) than among men without ED (2/39, 5%) [OR 21.1 (95% CI 4.5-98.4; p< 0.001)]. Using a more stringent definition of ED (IIEF6 < 22) gave similar results: 55% (20/36) of men with ED had a mining-related job versus 13% (6/48) of men without ED [OR 8.7 (95%CI 2.9- 25.7; p=0.001).