KUCHING: Men with diabetes are at a higher risk of erectile dysfunction or impotence, said Malaysian Diabetes Association Sarawak Branch (MDASB).
Its chairman Dr William Voon said erectile dysfunction was quite common among diabetic men, especially if their diabetes is not well controlled.
Dr Voon added that poorly controlled blood sugar levels associated with diabetes could damage or cause blockage in small blood vessels.
He said diabetes that was not well controlled was harmful to nerves.
There are two types of nervous systems – somatic and automatic.
The former moves the muscle while the latter works on its own.
“Unlike somatic, the automatic nervous system regulates the size of the vessels automatically.
“Erection depends upon this control on the size of blood vessels.”
Dr Voon said diabetes that was not well controlled could affect the function of the automatic nervous system and cause damage to the nerves.
The damage to the nerves, especially that control sexual stimulation and response, could impede a man’s ability to achieve an erection firm enough to have sexual intercourse.
Reduced blood flow from damaged blood vessels also contributes to erectile dysfunction.
Dr Voon believed that most men who were impotent due to diabetes are aged 50 years old and above.
Meanwhile, a study in Italy a few years ago showed that more than 56 per cent of diabetic men were impotent, and almost all complained bitterly that it had destroyed something that was very important to them.
The study also showed that most men who are impotent from diabetes are depressed.