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(HealthDay News) -- Thirteen percent of college men report having erectile dysfunction and 6 percent use erectile dysfunction medications (EDMs) such as Viagra, but only one in 29 ever discuss erectile dysfunction with their physician, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in San Francisco.

Najah Musacchio, M.D., of Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and colleagues surveyed 234 sexually active men aged 18 to 25 attending three universities in Chicago.

Thirteen percent reported having had trouble achieving or keeping an erection, and 25 percent reported erectile dysfunction while using a condom (EDwC). Men with erectile dysfunction more often had had a sexually transmitted disease and more than five sex partners in the preceding year.

While only one in 29 discussed erectile dysfunction with a physician, 6 percent used EDMs, obtaining them mostly from friends, the Internet or other non-medical sources. The majority used the medications to treat erectile dysfunction, and almost one in three used them to enhance sexual performance. Sixty-four percent of EDM users mixed EDM with drugs or alcohol, the researchers report.

"Erectile dysfunction and EDwC are commonly reported by adolescents but rarely discussed with medical providers," the authors write. "Providers should ask adolescents about erectile dysfunction and EDM use, counsel them on risks of mixing EDM with drugs or alcohol, and inquire about EDwC, stressing condom use with all sexual encounters."

http://www.abstracts2view.com/pas/vi...?nu=PAS6L1_291