22 causes of impotence, including at a young age

Few people know more than one or two risk factors for developing erectile dysfunction. As a rule, such causes of impotence as a sedentary lifestyle, prolonged abstinence and hypothermia of the causative place come to mind.

Swiss urologists interviewed 126 men who complained of erection problems. Half of them could not name a single potential cause of their sexual dysfunction. At the same time, minimizing risk factors helps maintain male strength and delay the onset of erectile dysfunction.

Until the 1980s, the vast majority of erectile dysfunction was considered psychological, subconscious neuroses and promiscuity. Today, sexologists believe that impotence most often occurs as a result of medical problems.

Main causes of impotence

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is dangerous due to the growth of fatty, cholesterol-rich deposits on the walls of the arteries. Cholesterol plaques narrow the arteries, reducing blood flow. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of heart disease and stroke. When it constricts the arteries of the penis, less blood enters the penis, which causes problems getting and maintaining an erection.

Smoking

Smoking provokes and significantly accelerates atherosclerosis. Smokers are twice as likely to experience cardiovascular disease and significantly increase their risk of developing impotence before the age of 60. It has been proven that arteries are restored only five years after smoking cessation, and this has a beneficial effect on erection. The risk of lung cancer remains high for much longer.

Heart disease

Atherosclerosis causes both heart disease and erectile dysfunction. This relationship is clearly visible, so heart disease can be a harbinger of impotence or vice versa.

High blood pressure

Hypertension damages the arteries and is a key risk factor for heart disease, which is closely linked to erectile dysfunction.

Diabetes

Ninety-five percent of diabetics have type 2 disease, usually caused by a combination of obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Diabetes significantly accelerates atherosclerosis. Compared to healthy men, diabetics are three times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and have a significantly higher risk of developing impotence.

Obesity

It takes extra energy to carry extra weight, energy that the body could invest in libido and erection. Obesity is also closely linked to atherosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, all of which contribute to sexual dysfunction.

Small mobility

A sedentary lifestyle is strongly associated with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. All of them damage arteries and reduce blood flow to the penis.

Junk food

Fatty meats, cheeses, ice cream, fast food are all high in animal (saturated) fat. This type of diet is most closely associated with atherosclerosis.

Lack of fruits and vegetables

Plant-based foods are free of saturated fats and rich in antioxidants that help keep arteries healthy.

Alcoholism

Alcohol is the main cause of impotence in mature men. A few drinks will not cause sexual weakness in young people, but after fifty, even one mug of beer, a glass of wine or a glass of vodka can make your reproductive organ turn into a useless appendage. Alcohol weakens arousal and impairs nerve conduction. Chronic addiction to alcohol increases blood pressure and accelerates atherosclerosis.

Obstructive sleep apnea

Apnea includes loud snoring punctuated by interruption of lung ventilation during sleep for more than 10 seconds. It is caused by excess tissue in the throat, usually as a result of obesity. When these tissues block the throat, breathing is interrupted for a moment. This causes a biological alarm that awakens the person, restoring breathing. But disturbed sleep and high blood pressure are a major and seriously underestimated risk factor for erectile dysfunction.

Severe emotional stress

Whatever you call it tension, anxiety, panic, emotional stress releases the hormone cortisol, which constricts the penile arteries, reducing blood flow. Typical causes of erection-killing stress include: anxiety about potency, relationship turmoil, family problems and work rushes, lack of money and conflicts with the law.

Stress can be linked to other sexual problems, such as premature ejaculation. So, Italian scientists analyzed 18 studies involving 57,229 men.It turned out that chronic premature ejaculation triples the risk of impotence.

Acute illness or injury

Don't expect your penis to get up if you can't get out of bed yourself. Illness and injury cause stress, fatigue, pain, and other problems that can make erections worse. Decreased sexual interest and function is the body's way of focusing on healing.

Depression

At some point in their lives, one in eight Americans will suffer from major depression. In men, this can cause the classic symptoms of withdrawal, feelings of helplessness and depression. But male depression can also manifest itself as anxiety, anger, insomnia, alcohol or drug abuse. The Chinese researchers pooled 49 studies involving several thousand people. Compared to mentally healthy men, depressed men are three times more likely to develop impotence.

Antidepressants

Many antidepressants kill erections just as much as depression itself. The most popular mood-lifting drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including: fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine, citalopram, escitalopram, dapoxetine, panuramin, indalpine, femoxetine, zimelidine, cericlamine, prozac, paxil, zoloft, luvox and celexa.

About 10 percent of male users suffer from impotence due to a side effect of the listed remedies. Fortunately, there are antidepressants that are equally effective, but do not cause erectile dysfunction, such as wellbutrin (bupropion). If you experience erection problems within a few weeks of starting an antidepressant prescribed by your doctor, ask your doctor if you can switch to wellbutrin.

Prostate cancer treatment

Treatment includes removal of the gland (prostatectomy), hormone therapy, and radiation. All this usually impairs erection. "Nerve-sparing" surgery is less likely to leave men with impotence, but it does not guarantee 100% postoperative stability.

Smaller but still important causes of impotence:

Neurological disorders

Multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and other conditions can damage the nerve conduction that is responsible for the mechanism of erection.

Anabolic Steroids

Some athletes and bodybuilders take these drugs to increase muscle mass. Over time, they suppress the production of the body's own testosterone and increase the risk of developing erectile dysfunction.

Significant prostate enlargement up to 60 years

As a man ages, his prostate enlarges, benign prostatic hyperplasia or adenoma occurs. It compresses the urethra, the urethra, causing decreased flow, trouble emptying the bladder, and the need to get up at night to urinate. Both BPH and impotence affect older men, but until the early 2000s, physiologists considered them unrelated. A growing body of research is now linking early BPH to the onset of erectile dysfunction.

Drugs prescribed for adenoma

Finasteride (Proscar, Propecia) and dutasteride (Avodart) are both associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction. Italian researchers analyzed 17 studies involving 46,733 men. The use of these drugs increases the risk of impotence by 50 percent.

Gum disease periodontitis

Chronic gum disease causes persistent inflammation. This impairs the body's ability to raise blood levels of nitric oxide, a compound needed for erections. Ten percent of American adults have periodontitis. Studies have confirmed that it is associated with erectile dysfunction. As gum disease becomes more severe, so does ED.

Vitamin D deficiency

Several studies show that low levels of vitamin D contribute to reduced sexual function. Some foods contain this vitamin: mushrooms, tofu, soy and almond milk. But most of all it is produced by the body itself in the skin when exposed to sunlight. Unfortunately, many people spend little time outdoors, and at the beach they put on sunscreen, which inhibits the synthesis of vitamin D.