Erectile Dysfunction

Doctors now think that 70% of erectile dysfunction can be traced to age-related changes or a physical condition that hampers blood flow, nerve functioning, or both. Such conditions include diabetes, kidney disease, atherosclerosis, vascular disease, multiple sclerosis, and alcoholism. Less frequently, erectile dysfunction is an outgrowth of injury to the nerves and vessels that serve the genitals or a disease that causes scarring of penile tissue. Unhealthy habits can also raise a man's risk of erectile dysfunction. Smoking raises the risk of erectile dysfunction by 50%, while being obese increases risk by 90%. Men who were both overweight and sedentary were two and a half times as likely to have erectile dysfunction compared with active men of normal weight.