Platinum open access journal
pISSN 2466-0493 eISSN 2466-054X
Indexed in MEDLINE, SCIE, Scopus, DOAJ and more
    Korean J Urol. 2006 Sep;47(9):987-993. Korean.
    Published online Sep 30, 2006.
    https://doi.org/10.4111/kju.2006.47.9.987
    Copyright © 2006 The Korean Urological Association
    Original Article

    Evaluation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Treating Patients with Erectile Dysfunction

    Bong Hee Park, Soo Woong Kim,1 Sae Woong Kim,2 Je Jong Kim,3 Hong Sik Kim,4 Kweon Sik Min,5 Kwangsung Park,6 Nam Cheol Park,7 Sung Won Lee,8 Woo Sik Chung,9 Jun Hyuk Hong,10 and Jong Kwan Park
      • Department of Urology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, and The Institute for Medical Sciences, and The Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Chonbuk National University Hospital, The Regional Research Centers Program of the Korean Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development through the Center for Healthcare Technology Development, Jeonju, Korea.
      • 1Department of Urology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
      • 2Department of Urology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
      • 3Department of Urology, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
      • 4Department of Urology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea.
      • 5Department of Urology, Inje University, Busan, Korea.
      • 6Department of Urology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
      • 7Department of Urology, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
      • 8Department of Urology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea.
      • 9Department of Urology, Ewha Womens University, Seoul, Korea.
      • 10Department of Urology, Ulsan University, Seoul, Korea.
    • Corresponding author (Email: rain@chonbuk.ac.kr )
    Received April 10, 2006; Accepted July 24, 2006.

    Abstract

    Purpose

    The aim of this study was to evaluate complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) employed for treating patients with erectile dysfunction.

    Materials and Methods

    A total of 204 patients with erectile dysfunction who completed a questionnaire between January and June 2005 were evaluated. The questionnaire was composed of 13 questions. This survey employed a broad definition for CAM, including acupuncture, biofeedback, folk remedies, chiropractic, homeopathy, hypnosis, massage, psychotherapy, relaxation, energy healing, imagery, special diet, spiritual healing and herbal medicine. The CAMs used by the patients with erectile dysfunction were divided into processed health foods, natural health foods and other therapies, and these were all analyzed.

    Results

    The mean age was 57.9±10.1 years. 78 of the total patients with erectile dysfunction had employed at least one CAM. CAM users were more likely to be high school educated, nonsmokers and exercisers. The CAMs used were processed health foods 62% (48/78), natural health foods 15% (12/78), and other therapies 66% (52/78). The processed health foods were soy 25%, ginseng 23% and mushroom 19%. Of the natural health foods, tomato was 42%, soy was 25% and ginseng was 17%. Of the other therapies, herbal medicine was 45%, acupuncture was 25%, moxibustion and cupping a boil were 17%. 35% (27/78) of the patients with erectile dysfunction had employed more than one of the processed health foods, natural health foods and other therapies.

    Conclusions

    Patients with erectile dysfunction had mainly employed processed health foods more than the natural health foods, herbal medicine and acupuncture. We think that more research is required about the effects and benefits of CAM in association with ED.

    Keywords
    Erectile dysfunction; Complementary medicine; Alternative medicine

    Tables

    Table 1
    Socio-demographical characteristics of the patients with ED*

    Table 2
    The processed health foods employed by the patients with ED*

    Table 3
    The natural health foods employed by the patients with ED*

    Table 4
    The other therapies employed by patients with ED*

    References

      1. Goldstein I, Lue TF, Padma-Nathan H, Rosen RC, Steers WD, Wicker PA. Oral sildenafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction 1998. J Urol 2002;167:1197–1203.
      1. Algier LA, Hanoglu Z, Ozden G, Kara F. The use of complementary and alternative (non-conventional) medicine in cancer patients in Turkey. Eur J Oncol Nurs 2005;9:138–146.
      1. Park HC, Park HJ, Park NC. The clinical trial of apomorphine hydrochloride SL (Uprima®) in patients with erectile dysfunction. Korean J Urol 2003;44:1038–1044.
      1. Kennedy J. Herb and supplement use in the US adult population. Clin Ther 2005;27:1847–1858.
      1. Ernst E, Cassileth BR. The prevalence of complementary/alternative medicine in cancer: a systematic review. Cancer 1998;83:777–782.
      1. Gunther S, Patterson RE, Kristal AR, Stratton KL, White E. Demographic and health-related correlates of herbal and specialty supplement use. J Am Diet Assoc 2004;104:27–34.
      1. Lambert BL, Butin DN, Moran D, Zhao SZ, Carr BC, Chen C, et al. Arthritis care: comparison of physicians' and patients' views. Semin Arthritis Rheum 2000;30:100–110.
      1. Gozum S, Tezel A, Koc M. Complementary alternative treatments used by patients with cancer in eastern Turkey. Cancer Nurs 2003;26:230–236.
      1. Moyad MA, Barada JH, Lue TF, Mulhall JP, Goldstein I, Fawzy A. Prevention and treatment of erectile dysfunction using lifestyle changes and dietary supplements: what works and what is worthless, part I. Urol Clin North Am 2004;31:249–257.
      1. Tamaoki J, Nakata J, Kawatani K, Tagaya E, Nagai A. Ginsenoside-induced relaxation of human bronchial smooth muscle via release of nitric oxide. Br J Pharmacol 2000;130:1859–1864.
      1. Hong B, Ji YH, Hong JH, Nam KY, Ahn TY. A double-blind crossover study evaluating the efficacy of Korean red ginseng in patients with erectile dysfunction: a preliminary report. J Urol 2002;168:2070–2073.
      1. Guirguis WR. Oral treatment of erectile dysfunction: from herbal remedies to designer drugs. J Sex Marital Ther 1998;24:69–73.
      1. Moyad MA. Dietary supplements and other alternative medicines for erectile dysfunction. What do I tell my patients? Urol Clin North Am 2002;29:11–22.
      1. Moyad MA, Hathaway S, Ni HS. Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and other alternative medicines for prostate cancer: an introduction and the need for more research. Semin Urol Oncol 1999;17:103–110.
      1. Engelhardt PF, Daha LK, Zils T, Simak R, Konig K, Pfluger H. Acupuncture in the treatment of psychogenic erectile dysfunction: first results of a prospective randomized placebo-controlled study. Int J Impot Res 2003;15:343–346.
    Cited by
    Crossref 3
    Google Scholar 
    Scopus 2
    MeSH Terms
    Acupuncture
    Agaricales
    Biofeedback, Psychology
    Chiropractic
    Complementary Therapies*
    Diet
    Erectile Dysfunction*
    Food, Organic
    Health Food
    Herbal Medicine
    Homeopathy
    Humans
    Hypnosis
    Lycopersicon esculentum
    Male
    Massage
    Medicine, Traditional
    Moxibustion
    Panax
    Psychotherapy
    Relaxation
    Spiritual Therapies
    Surveys and Questionnaires
    Metrics
    Share
    Tables
    slide
    slide
    slide
    slide

    1 / 4

    PERMALINK