Sixty-four percent of Egyptian men aged between 35-70 suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED), andrology experts said on Thursday at a Cairo medical conference entitled "Reasons for ED and its effect on humans."
Dr. Sami Hanafi, professor of andrology at the Benha Medical Faculty and head of the Egyptian Society of Andrology, defined ED as the inability of men to develop and maintain an erection for satisfactory sexual intercourse. He pointed out that the condition is prevalent globally, not only in Egypt.
Experts participating in the conference warned of the dangers of this high percentage, especially considering ED is usually accompanied by chronic diseases after the age of 40.
Approximately 150 million men worldwide suffer from ED, of whom 50 percent are aged between 40 and 70. This number is expected to climb to 322 million by 2025.
Hanafi said that the condition is a major cause of marital problems but is often not spoken about. It can lead to a marriage breaking up, he said, but is often concealed as the real cause of divorce.
Smoking is one major cause for ED, Hanafi said, as it causes the constriction of small blood vessels, high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis.
