A couple of drinks help to keep the pencil sharp

William Atkins
Monday, 26 January 2009 20:21

Science - Health

Dr. Dhew also stated, “We found that, compared to those who have never touched alcohol, many people do benefit from some alcohol, including some who drink outside the guidelines."

The researchers concluded, “Our findings suggest a modest negative association between alcohol consumption and ED …."

They added, "The Western Australia Men's Health Study certainly provides no justification for advising men with ED whose drinking habits are consistent with NHMRC guidelines that they should cease or reduce their consumption of alcohol.”

In other words, the study’s results indicate that men with erectile dysfunction should not stop or reduce their drinking because it causes more problems that are sexual. According to the study drinking actually causes fewer sexual problems.

For additional information on erectile dysfunction, please go to the website of the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information and Clearinghouse (NKUDIC)

The website states, "Erectile dysfunction, or ED, can be a total inability to achieve erection, an inconsistent ability to do so, or a tendency to sustain only brief erections. These variations make defining ED and estimating its incidence difficult. Estimates range from 15 million to 30 million, depending on the definition used."

"According to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), for every 1,000 men in the United States, 7.7 physician office visits were made for ED in 1985. By 1999, that rate had nearly tripled to 22.3. The increase happened gradually, presumably as treatments such as vacuum devices and injectable drugs became more widely available and discussing erectile function became accepted."

"Perhaps the most publicized advance was the introduction of the oral drug sildenafil citrate (Viagra) in March 1998. NAMCS data on new drugs show an estimated 2.6 million mentions of Viagra at physician office visits in 1999, and one-third of those mentions occurred during visits for a diagnosis other than ED."