Increased usage of ED-drugs amongst young men
Young men are using a record amount of ED-drugs.
March 29, 2015
Over the past five years the number of prescriptions written almost doubled.
Among the explanations: cheaper drugs and performance anxiety.
Never before have drugs against erectile dysfunction, more often called impotence, been used the to the same extent as now – particularly among men in the age group 20-29 years.
TT’s review of statistics from the National Board of Health shows that the number of patients last year increased by 21 percent. Although it is a small figure – 2.78 per 1 000 inhabitants – there is a clear upward trend among younger men.
The highest demand is in Norrbotten, Västmanland, Södermanland and Stockholm County.
Stefan Arver is chief physician at the Center for Andrology and Sexual Medicine at the Karolinska Hospital and sees several explanations, including a sharp drop in prices when the patent expired on Viagra – the most well-known drug for impotence – in the summer of 2013.
– Then the price dropped from 110 SEK to about 25 SEK. If your main income is a student loan, the cost of 110 SEK for each tablet is quite a lot of money, he says.
The price change could explain the dramatic increase from 2013 to 2014. However, there has been a steadily rising curve of prescriptions during the 2000s.
– I think this slowly increasing trend is partly due to a greater openness when it comes to using this type of drug, says Arver.
TT: Are there any drawbacks that more young people are using these drugs?
– If you have psychological problems and you cover them up with these drugs, then one can imagine that the person is consumed even more by performance problems and does not attack the root of the problem. It is important that young men with this problem get help and support from skilled sexologists.
Göran Sedvallson is chief physician at Blekinge Hospital and has over 30 years experience of men with erectile dysfunction. He also sees other explanations. These may include, for example, performance anxiety and everyday stress that affects people negatively.
– The biggest reason [for these problems] is nervousness; there is pressure and people are feeling stressed. If you have failed to achieve an erection at one point, you can bet yourself it’s going to happen again. It’s a delicate mechanism, he says.
COMMENTS: Dr. Göran Sedvallson has been quoted as saying porn-induced ED exists and it’s a major cause of ED in young men. Perhaps the editor left this out.
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