Abstract

Sexual intercourse is a basic human function and a fundamental part of life. It is multifaceted and quite complex and involves physical, psychological and emotional factors and affects the general wellbeing and overall quality of life. Despite the increasing interest in clinical practice in human sexual dysfunction (SD) and the related relevance of psychological outcomes for men, this area has been neglected in scientific scenarios.

The aim of this study is to access the prevalence of sexual dysfunction, factors associated to SD and its psychological impact on males aged 21 to 60 years in the Buea Health District.

A community based cross-sectional study was carried out within the Buea Municipality. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select participants for this study and minimum sample size of 331 was estimated for this study. The data collection tool used was a modified IIEF and SQOL-M questionnaire.

Four hundred (400) participants were recruited for this study out of which 63(15%) of the questionnaires were obtained through an online form and 350(85%) were obtained physically.  The overall prevalence of sexual dysfunction in males of the BHD was reported to be 72(18%) with the most common being ED with a prevalence of 48%. Based on the severity of ED, 44% of the participants suffered from mild erectile dysfunction, 2% were suffering from moderate ED while 2% were suffering from severe ED.  Looking at the other types of SD, the prevalence of poor sexual desire was 9.1%, poor satisfaction with intercourse 9.2%, and OD 8.7. Thirty-three (8.5%) of the participants were suffering from delayed ejaculation and 12(3.1%) reported premature ejaculation.  Based on the severity of ED, 43.9% of the participants suffered from mild erectile dysfunction, 2% were suffered from moderate ED while 2% suffered from severe ED. Risk  factors associated with SD included age, chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes and hypertension), psychological factors (such as anxiety and depression), lifestyle factors (such as smoking and substance abuse), and medication use. For the health seeking habits, 40% of our participants sorted for medical care, and 45.7% reported seeking traditional medication, 11.4% and 2.9% of participants sought road side medication and social media treatment respectively. For the psychological impact on males suffering from SD, 29(40.28%) had a poor impact, 13(18.06%) reported average impact and 30(41.6%) reported good impact.

These results suggest that SD is a relatively common issue among males in the BHD. Also, the overall impact of SD among males in the BHD is relatively high, and there is a need to address SD in healthcare interventions and ensure that individuals experiencing SD receive appropriate support and treatment.

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