Men's Sexual Health and the Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the current literature on the impact of the metabolic syndrome on male sexual health and current developments in the management of sexually dysfunctional men with a metabolic syndrome. The increasing prevalence across the world of the metabolic syndrome—a cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors—causes the metabolic syndrome to be considered the most important threat to male sexual health of the 21st century. It has been shown to have a negative impact on male sexual function through its relationship with cardiovascular disease risk, its association with hypogonadism, and associated psychosocial factors. Besides established pharmacological and hormonal interventions, lifestyle modification programs are considered important therapeutic tools.

Acknowledgments

I thank Jacques van Lankveld for carefully reading the manuscript and giving valuable comments.

Notes

Note. Metabolic syndrome is present if ≥ three factors (triglycerides and high-density lipoproteins are counted separately) are positive.