Impotence in Medical Clinic Outpatients

One thousand one hundred eighty men in a medical outpatient clinic were screened as to the presence of impotence. Four hundred one men (34%) were impotent, and of those, 188 (47%) chose to be examined for their problem. After a comprehensive evaluation the following diagnoses were obtained: medication effect, 25%; psychogenic, 14%; neurological, 7%; urologic, 6%; primary hypogonadism, 10%; secondary hypogonadism, 9%; diabetes mellitus, 9%; hypothyroidism, 5%; hyperthyroidism, 1%; hyperprolactinemia, 4%; miscellaneous, 4%; and unknown causes, 7%. The mean age of the impotent patients was 59.4 years, and the prevalence of alcoholism was 7%. Luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone, thyroxine, triiodothyronine (T3), T3resin uptake, and prolactin studies were necessary to diagnose individual cases. We conclude that erectile dysfunction is a common and often overlooked problem in middle-aged men followed in a medical clinic. (JAMA1983;249:1736-1740)