Journal of Humanitarian Affairs: Men who take erectile dysfunction drugs more apt to get HIVAIDS and other STDS

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Carol Forsloff - Men most vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases are those who take erectile dysfunction drugs, according to a new medical report examining insurance records of 1.4 million men over age 40.

"Anyone who does not practice safer sex, no matter their age, can contract an STD," says Anupam B. Jena, MD, PhD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Medicine, the study's lead author. "Even though STDs are quite rare among older men – on the order of 1 per 1,000 individuals – we found that STD rates in men who used ED drugs were two to three times higher, both before and after they filled their first prescription."

Researchers tell us one big lesson from this has to do with physicians not just prescribing erectile dysfunction but also educating patients on the importance of safe sex practices.

The final study group included about 40,000 men who used ED drugs and nearly 1.37 million who did not.

HIV/AIDS was the most frequently reported STD in both groups, followed by chlamydia.

The prevalence of STDs did not change to any significant degree after ED drug therapy began. Researchers conclude that the difference between groups probably reflects higher-risk sexual practices among users of the drugs. The data gathered could not indicate whether ED drug use itself increased STD risk. Additional research will be undertaken to further investigate this.

"Health care providers need to recognize that their older adult patients who are on ED drugs are already at a higher risk of having or acquiring an STD," says Dana Goldman, PhD, director of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California (USC), the study's senior author. "Both the physicians who prescribe these drugs and the pharmacists who fill those prescriptions should counsel all patients on the importance of safer sexual practices."