Prevalence and impact of premature ejaculation in outpatients complaining of ejaculating prematurely: using the instruments of intravaginal ejaculatory latency time and patient-reported outcome measures

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the impact of premature ejaculation (PE) on a large population of men and their female partners using the instruments of intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. A non-interventional, observational and cross-sectional field survey enrolled 2704 men with self-reported PE and their female partners from January 2010 to January 2012. PE was diagnosed by the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) criterion. IELT and sexual dysfunction were measured using a stopwatch and PRO measures, respectively. The incidence of PE in this study was 19.27%. PE negatively impacted on subjects and their partners, including reduced ejaculatory control and sexual satisfaction, and increased personal distress and interpersonal difficulty (P<0.001 for all). The severity of PE was considered worse by subjects than by their female partners (P<0.001). Reduced ejaculatory control and sexual satisfaction were considered the central themes of PE. Furthermore, a correlation was observed among the outcomes of IELT and PRO measures for subjects and their partners (absolute correlation coefficient ranged from 0.33 to 0.67). This in-depth qualitative study provides valuable insight into the PE status in Chinese men. Further research is needed to confirm and extend these results.