In a recently published evaluation of the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in 151 healthy young males (aged 17-35 years) using the widely used and well validated International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) [1], Rynja and colleagues came to the important conclusion that the current method of scoring the IIEF may lead to inflated rates of sexual dysfunction among young men [2]. They found that when participants who responded to at least one item on the IIEF with the response "no sexual activity" (resulting in a 0-score for that item) were excluded from analysis, there was a 0% prevalence of ED within this age-group, compared with a 34% prevalence of ED in this same sample if these participants were not excluded. This finding led the authors to suggest that scoring for the IIEF must be adapted for samples in which men are not recently sexually active, or rates of sexual dysfunction may be grossly exaggerated.
展开▼
