Research finds semaglutide leads to increased risk of erectile dysfunction in men living with obesity

New research highlights a significant increase in the risks of erectile dysfunction and testosterone deficiency in men prescribed semaglutide.

The study, published in the IJIR: Your Sexual Medicine Journal, researched the risk of erectile dysfunction in men living with obesity and without diabetesfollowing semaglutide treatment.

Semaglutide is an incretin mimetic medication that increases the release of insulin from the pancreas and, as a result, is used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The study was based on 3,094 US male participants aged 18 to 50 with medically confirmed obesity and no diabetes diagnosis.

Key findings include that 1.47 per cent of participants who were prescribed semaglutide, were diagnosed with erectile dysfunction or prescribed a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, which is a class of drugs widely used in the management of erectile dysfunction.

Researchers concluded that the current study highlights a significant increase in the risks of both erectile dysfunction and testosterone deficiency in men prescribed semaglutide.

However, the increased risk may be acceptable to most patients, given the weight loss and cardiovascular benefits associated with semaglutide treatment.