According to a study published in Annuals of Internal Medicine, men who use erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs have higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)—HIV in particular.

Anupam B. Jena from Harvard Medical School, along with colleagues, stated, “Pharmacologic treatments for [ED] have gained popularity among middle-aged and older men. Increased sexual activity among those who use these drugs raises concerns about [STDs].”

The study investigated the rates of STDs in over 1.4 million men over the age of 40 who either use or do not use ED drugs. The participant pool included just under 34,000 men who had filled at least one prescription for an ED drug.

During the year prior to treatment and following treatment, those men who had used ED drugs had increased rates of STDs than non-users. For HIV infection, the odds ratio (OR) for those men using ED drugs was 3.32% in the year before treatment and 3.19% in the year following treatment.

The study authors wrote, “Men who use ED drugs have higher rates of STDs, particularly HIV infection, both in the year before and after use of these drugs. The observed association between ED drug use and STDs may have more to do with the types of patients using ED drugs rather than a direct effect of ED drug availability on STD drugs.”

This study was limited due to its lack of randomization (all data was retrieved from one private database), retrospective design, and selection bias.

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