The prevalence of erectile dysfunction in male patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Rwanda: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Among diabetic men may experience erectile dysfunction (ED). Although commonly acknowledged to be a significant burden on diabetic men worldwide, nothing is known about the prevalence of diabetic ED in Rwanda.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ED in diabetic men in Rwanda with the focus on one private clinic (Fraternity Clinic) and 3 different public hospitals; University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB), and Masaka District Hospital (MDH).
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 125 diabetic men attending different health facilities; KUTH, BUTH, MDH and Fraternity Clinic and meeting the inclusion criteria. Data were collected from November 2017 to January 2018. During this period, 125 diabetic men between 20 and 70 years old were screened for ED by using international index of erectile function (IIEF-15) standards. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20, and a confidence Interval (CI) of 95% was used.
RESULTS: The median age of the study participants was 47.58 years (SD: 11.638). We found that 62.40% of patients had ED, in whom 21.60% had mild ED, 17.60% had mild to moderate ED, 15.20%had severe ED, 8%had moderate ED and 37.60% had no dysfunction.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of ED in our study was found to increase with age. In our study, the determinants of ED were duration of diabetes mellitus, health insurance, site or health facility, level of education, and alcohol use.

Keywords
Erectile dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, cross-sectional study, impotence; sexual dysfunction