Erectile dysfunction and quality of life of men affected by hostilities in the Russian-Ukrainian war

Abstract

Erectile dysfunction and the associated quality of life are a pressing social and medical problem for millions of people. The basis of the work was the results of a survey of 298 men injured as a result of combat operations (shrapnel and bullet wounds) using the questionnaires of the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) and the SF-36 Health Status Survey (SF-36) questionnaire to characterize the quality of life. The research group was divided into two: men aged 20-39 years (group 1) and men aged 40-53 years (group 2). The control group consisted of 48 clinically healthy men without complaints of sexual dysfunction or cardiac, neurological or endocrinological pathology. It is shown that men aged 20-39 years have a mild form of ED where the total score is 19.57 ± 0.44. Men of the 2nd group aged 40-53 years also have a mild form of ED, but the total score is much lower and is 17.74 ± 0.41. Patients of both age groups affected by hostilities suffer from both mental and physical health components. Indicators such as general health, role functioning due to physical condition, and pain intensity have probably lower values compared to the contol group. Lower indicators of role functioning due to physical condition indicate limitations in everyday life due to unsatisfactory physical condition. The decrease in the physical functioning index has statistically significant differences only in patients of the 2nd observed group. Thus, a mild form of erectile dysfunction is observed in men injured as a result of hostilities. No significant differences in the severity of erectile dysfunction were found between male war victims of two age groups. All IIEF-5 domains were significantly reduced in men affected by combat operations. It has been proven that the physical and mental components of health suffer in victims of hostilities. Against the background of a decrease in all indicators on the scales of the physical component of health, general health and role functioning caused by physical condition lag behind the most. In the psychological domain, the most pronounced changes are recorded in such components as mental health, vital activity and social functioning. Сorrelation analysis revealed the significant correlation between physical functioning and role functioning caused by emotional state (r = +0.64; P < 0.05).