 "Alcohol consumption is a contentious social topic and is often assumed to have deleterious effect on sexual performance," wrote the authors, in the January online issue of International Society for Sexual Medicine. "There is a lack of consensus on whether alcohol consumption may in fact be beneficial to erectile function."
Most of the researchers are affiliated with the University of Western Australia. They claim that the idea is not far-fetched, since moderate alcohol consumption is linked to better cardiovascular health. Therefore, it may also aid the function of vascular organs. Furthermore, erectile dysfunction (ED) is closely linked to cardiovascular disease.
The purpose of the study, lead by the EC researcher Dr Kew-Kim Chew at the Keogh Institute for Medical Research in Perth, was to try and establish a relationship between alcohol consumption and impotency. The group used the data from 1,580 participants from Western Australia between 20 and 80 years age. That study, completed in December 2002, found that ED is widespread among men and that heart-related ailments and smoking are major risk factors for the condition.
Participants included information on their drinking and smoking behaviour, as well as answers to questions on their erectile function. "Our findings suggest that men who consumed alcohol appeared to have lower odds of erectile dysfunction, compared to non-drinkers, if the level if alcohol consumption is within the guidelines for low-risk drinking," said Chew. "This implies up to four standard drinks a day on not more than five days a week."
The study reckons a standard alcoholic drink as a small bottle of beer, up to 125 ml wine or a small shot of 30 ml of hard liquor. The drinks were not categorized by different types for comparison.
Men who drank alcohol within these levels were nearly 30 percent less likely to report impotence problems, regardless of age and the non-smokers out of these were almost 50 percent less likely to report problems than smokers. Any level of alcohol consumption seemed to be linked to a lower risk of ED, but Chew was also clarified the implications of the study.
"The message from our article is that alcohol drinkers with erectile dysfunction do not need to carry a sense of guilt about their past or current drinking with respect to their dysfunction and doctors do not have to counsel them against alcohol, if the level of alcohol consumption is within the guidelines for low-risk drinking," he said, cautioning however that, "the findings do not suggest that non-drinkers should commence drinking with the idea of improving sexual performance."
The Chew-led group noted in the Abstract that the use of alcohol and sexual performance has been inversely related in the past; i.e., more alcohol causes less desirable sexual performance in men. "These findings suggest a favourable association between low-risk drinking and positive erectile function," Dr Chew said.
America's Dietary Guidelines, issued in association with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, urge men to drink no more than two standard drinks a day, and women to stick to just one standard drink per day.
The study concludes that low risk drinkers, those who consumed up to twenty drinks a week spread over five days, had the fewest sexual problems. Those who drank on weekends only and those who were binge drinkers suffered lower rates of erectile dysfunction than those who drank only one day a week or drank none at all. Men who performed the poorest were heavy drinkers who had stopped drinking and those who smoked or had heart disease.
The study has its limitations, though. No follow-up inquiries were made to the men after the study for more information. Besides, men may not always be truthful answering questions about impotence. |