The relationship between adult or adolescent sexual abuse and sexual dysfunction: preliminary results from the Boston Area Community Health Survey (BACH)

Purpose To examine the relationship between adult or adolescent sexual abuse (ASA) and erectile dysfunction (ED). Methods The analyses were conducted using preliminary data from the Boston Area Community Health Survey (BACH), a population-based random sample survey of Hispanic, non-Hispanic African American, and non-Hispanic Caucasian men aged 30 to 79 years of age residing in Boston, MA. We conducted multiple logistic regression analyses in our sample of 741 men with complete data on ED and ASA. We used complex sampling strategies with stratification and multiple stages; therefore, the data were weighted to account for the unequal probability of subject selection. Weighted and unweighted data were analyzed in this study. ED and ASA were each operationalized using a self-administered questionnaire. The presence of ED was determined based on the subjects response to a question related to impotence, where a response of “Not impotent” was scored as no ED and “minimally”, “moderately,” and “completely impotent” responses were scored as ED present. The presence of ASA was determined based on the subjects responses to questions related to sexual abuse occurring at age 14 or older. Results Our sample included 262 men with ED and 479 without ED. In addition, 99 men experienced ASA with 642 men having no such experience. In the unweighted analyses, the multiple logistic regression model, controlling for race and age, ASA (odds ratio OR = 1.65, 95% confidence interval CI = 1.10, 2.60) was positively associated with ED. We hypothesized that depression was a mediator here; however, adding depression to the model had only a minor influence on the odds ratio for ASA (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.01, 2.50). The weighted analyses yielded similar results. The multiple logistic regression model, controlling for race and age, yielded ASA OR = 1.75 (95% CI = 0.83, 3.69). The weighted data including depression in the model yielded ASA OR = 1.55 (95% CI = 0.78, 3.08). Conclusion Men who have experienced sexual abuse as adolescents or adults appear to experience more erectile dysfunction than other men.