Organic and Psychogenic Causes of Sexual Dysfunction in Young Men

Abstract

Sexual dysfunction, specifically erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation (PE), and delayed ejaculation (DE), are debilitating diseases, especially in young men. The past decade has seen an increase in the number of young men (under 40 years of age) presenting to their physician with sexual dysfunction. Traditionally, sexual dysfunction in young men was viewed as a strictly psychosomatic problem stemming from underlying psychogenic causes such as anxiety or insecurity. While this is true in some cases, the advent of new diagnostic tools and pharmacotherapy have revealed that the prevalence of organic causes for these diseases is much higher than previously thought. In reality, many patients present with primarily organic sexual dysfunction that then triggers concomitant psychogenic stressors such as anxiety and depression which exacerbate their problem. This review focuses on the common etiologies of sexual dysfunction experienced by young men in order to help educate clinicians so that they may better understand, identify, and serve this growing patient population.