Urologists at Maimonides Medical Center in the United States have identified the drugs most closely associated with erectile dysfunction and have published their findings from a comprehensive analysis. The study drew on a national pharmacovigilance database to determine which medications are linked to the highest incidence of erectile problems, examining reports from 2010 to 2020. Drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction were excluded to prevent bias, leaving a list of the twenty medications most commonly implicated in erection difficulties among men, as reported by clinicians and researchers. The researchers note that the results were reported in the journal Sexual Medicine.
A total of twenty drugs were responsible for six thousand reports of postdrug erection problems. Among these, five alpha reductase inhibitors, which are prescribed for benign prostatic hyperplasia, accounted for twenty-three hundred eighty-three reports, representing forty-six percent, while neuropsychiatric medications contributed two thousand four hundred forty-two reports, or around forty percent. The distribution highlights that a substantial share of adverse erectile events is tied to therapies outside the direct treatment of sexual dysfunction, underscoring the need for careful regimen assessment when sexual side effects arise.
The authors stress that physicians should be familiar with the pharmacologic mechanisms of these agents to adjust treatment plans if problems occur. Clinicians are encouraged to review the potential for sexual side effects as part of routine patient management, ensuring that therapeutic benefits are balanced with quality-of-life considerations. This approach can help safeguard sexual health while maintaining effective disease control in the populations studied.