Sexual dysfunctions in men are complex disorders that consist of organic and psychogenic components. The most common sexual dysfunction is erectile dysfunction. It is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection for satisfactory sexual performance. This disorder can be caused by high blood pressure, heart disease, vascular problems, psychological and hormonal factors such as problems with testosterone and prolactin levels. In this study, we tested the relationship between erectile dysfunction, hyperprolactinemia and psychosocial stress. Clinical examinations of 60 patients with erectile dysfunction, which also included psychosocial stress, focussed on patient history, comprehensive sexological examination, biochemical analyses of serum prolactin, total testosterone and thyroid-stimulating hormone with psychometric evaluation of erectile function and a checklist of trauma symptoms (TSC-40). The results show significant Spearman correlations of psychometric evaluation of erectile function with prolactin (R = .50) and results of the trauma checklist score (R = .55) and significant Spearman correlations between TSC-40 and prolactin (R = .52). This result indicates a significant relationship between erectile dysfunction, hyperprolactinemia and stress symptoms in men.

1st Faculty of Medicine Institute of Sexology Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Anatomy Histology and Embryology Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno Brno Czech Republic

Department of Pathology Znojmo Hospital Znojmo Czech Republic

Psychiatric Clinic Department of Sexology Faculty of Medicine Charles University Pilsen Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Briere, J. (2006). Dissociative symptoms and trauma exposure: Specificity, affect dysregulation, and posttraumatic stress. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 194, 78-82. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nmd.0000198139.47371.54

Brotto, L., Atallah, S., Johnson-Agbakwu, C., Rosenbaum, T., Abdo, C., Byers, E. S., Graham, C., Nobre, P., & Wylie, K. (2016). Psychological and interpersonal dimensions of sexual function and dysfunction. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 13(4), 538-571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.01.019

Buvat, J. (2003). Hyperprolactinemia and sexual function in men: A short review. International Journal of Impotence Research, 15(5), 373-377. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3901043

Buvat, J., Maggi, M., Gooren, L., Guay, A. T., Kaufman, J., Morgentaler, A., Schulman, C., Tan, H. M., Torres, L. O., Yassin, A., & Zitzmann, M. (2010). Endocrine aspects of male sexual dysfunctions. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7(4 Pt 2), 1627-1656. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01780.x

Cappelleri, J. C., Tseng, L. J., Stecher, V. J., & Althof, S. E. (2018). Clinically important difference on the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction questionnaire in patients with erectile dysfunction. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 72(4), e13073. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.13073

Carani, C., Isidori, A. M., Granata, A., Carosa, E., Maggi, M., Lenzi, A., & Jannini, E. A. (2005). Multicenter study on the prevalence of sexual symptoms in male hypo- and hyperthyroid patients. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 90(12), 6472-6479. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2005-1135

Corona, G., Isidori, A. M., Aversa, A., Burnett, A. L., & Maggi, M. (2016). Endocrinologic control of men's sexual desire and arousal/erection. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 13(3), 317-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.01.007

Corona, G., Mannucci, E., Jannini, E. A., Lotti, F., Ricca, V., Monami, M., Boddi, V., Bandini, E., Balercia, G., Forti, G., & Maggi, M. (2009). Hypoprolactinemia: A new clinical syndrome in patients with sexual dysfunction. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 6(5), 1457-1466.

Corona, G., Rastrelli, G., Filippi, S., Vignozzi, L., Mannucci, E., & Maggi, M. (2014). Erectile dysfunction and central obesity: An Italian perspective. Asian Journal of Andrology, 16(4), 581-591. https://doi.org/10.4103/1008-682X.126386

Fiala, L., & Lenz, J. (2020). Psychosocial stress, somatoform dissociative symptoms and free testosterone in premature ejaculation. Andrologia, 52, e13828. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.13828

Gretchen, M. I. (2019). Erectile dysfunction. Primary Care, 46(2), 249-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2019.02.006

Kobori, Y., Koh, E., Sugimoto, K., Izumi, K., Narimoto, K., Maeda, Y., Konaka, H., Mizokami, A., Matsushita, T., Iwamoto, T., & Namiki, M. (2009). The relationship of serum and salivary cortisol levels to male sexual dysfunction as measured by the International Index of Erectile Function. International Journal of Impotence Research, 21, 207-212. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2009.14

Lincoln, T. M., Lüllmann, E., & Rief, W. (2007). Correlates and long-term consequences of poor insight in patients with schizophrenia. A systematic review. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33(6), 1324-1342. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbm002

Montejo, A. L., Llorca, G., Izquierdo, J. A., & Rico-Villademoros, F. (2001). Incidence of sexual dysfunction associated with antidepressant agents: A prospective multicenter study of 1022 outpatients. Spanish Working Group for the study of psychotropic-related sexual dysfunction. Journal of Clinic Psychiatry, 62(Suppl 3), 10-21.

Rosen, R. C. (2001). Psychogenic erectile dysfunction. Classification and management. Urologic Clinics of North America, 28(2):269-278.

Shamloul, R., & el-Nashaar, A. (2006). Chronic prostatitis in premature ejaculation: A cohort study in 153 men. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 3(1), 150-154.

Xu, Z. H., Pan, D., Liu, T. Y., Yuan, M.-Z., Zhang, J.-Y., Jiang, S., Wang, X.-S., Guan, Y., & Zhao, S.-T. (2019). Effect of prolactin on penile erection: A cross-sectional study. Asian Journal of Andrology, 21(6), 587-591. https://doi.org/10.4103/aja.aja_22_19

Zimmermann, M. B. (2009). Iodine deficiency. Endocrine Reviews, 30(4), 376-408. https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2009-0011