The pharmaceuticals company Bayer, which is conducting a worldwide survey of the
sex lives of men, announced the results of the survey at the 8th International
Congress of Andrology in Seoul on Monday. Bayer had previously published
results of a survey of 27,000 men in seven Western nations like the U.S.,
Brazil, France and Germany.
The survey, which the company says features a random sample of 9,000 men from
Korea, China, Taiwan and Malaysia, shows sufferers from erectile dysfunction in
Korea to make up 1 percent of men in their 20s, 4 percent of those in their
30s, 8 percent of those in their 40s, 15 percent of those in their 50s, and 24
percent for those in their 60s. That was twice the proportion found in Malaysia
and Taiwan.
Koreans who suffered from impotence usually had other diseases that could help
account for their affliction, with some 25 percent having diabetes, 22 percent
heart disease, 21 percent high cholesterol, 21 percent high blood pressure, 14
percent enlarged prostates and 22 suffering from depression.
Prof. Lee Seong-won of Samsung Seoul Hospital, who helped with the survey,
said, "There was a clear trend that in Asia, sufferers from erectile
dysfunction try to hide their disease or fail to seek treatment, and this was
particularly pronounced in Korea." He added, "Erectile dysfunction can be an
early sign of diseases like heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, so
one mustn't take it lightly."
