Observational study shows no significant improvement in sexual function of partners of ED patients, despite therapy indicating quality of life impacts.
Background Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as difficulty to obtain an adequate erection for satisfactory sexual intercourse ED causes a negative impact on intimate relationships, quality of life, and self-esteem. Accordingly, their partners suffer with a subsequent negative impact on quality of life, leading to an increased incidence of relationship breakdown. Methods A total of 90 consecutive ED patients who received different ED therapies and their partners, and 90 consecutive controls and their partners were divided into four groups. All participants were evaluated by the 15-item International Index of Erectile Function and the Arabic version of the female sexual function index (Ar-FSFI). Results All (ED) patients who received sildenafil demonstrated significant improvements in their erectile function compared to baseline. Their partners did not demonstrate improvements in frequency of pain during vaginal penetration (3.86 ± 0.58, 3.93 ± 0.45, p = 0.477), confidence of becoming aroused (3.86 ± 0.58, 3.93 ± 0.45, p 0.477), frequency of satisfaction with arousal (3.07 ± 0.37, 3.03 ± 0.49, p 0.712), and maintenance of lubrication (4.37 ± 0.49, 4.23 ± 0.73, p 0.354). All (ED) patients who received quadmix demonstrated significant improvements in their erectile function compared to baseline. Their partners did not demonstrate improvements in desire level (2.6 ± 0.67, 2.63 ± 0.85, p = 0.869) and lubrication maintenance (3.53 ± 0.82, 3.47 ± 0.82, p = 0.423). Finally, all ED patients who underwent semi-rigid penile implant demonstrated significant improvements of their erectile function compared to baseline. Their female partners demonstrated significant improvements in all items of FSFI-19 compared to baseline, except the frequency of pain during vaginal penetration (3.86 ± 0.58, 3.93 ± 0.45, p = 0.477), confidence of becoming aroused (3.86 ± 0.58, 3.93 ± 0.45, p = 0.477), frequency of satisfaction with arousal (3.07 ± 0.37, 3.03 ± 0.49, p = 0.712), and maintenance of lubrication (4.37 ± 0.49, 4.23 ± 0.73, p = 0.354). Conclusion The sexual function of ED males significantly improved after ED therapies. Nevertheless, some sexual functions of their partners were not positively impacted.
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Ismail et al. (2025) studied this question.
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