Caffeinated coffee may help reduce ED risk

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

So maybe coffee can help you get up in two ways?

Drinking two to three cups of coffee per day could reduce the likelihood that a man will suffer from erectile dysfunction, experts at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and their colleagues reported in a recent edition of the journal PLOS One.

In the study, lead author Dr. David Lopez and his fellow researchers reported that males who consumed between 85 and 170 milligrams of caffeine each day were 42 percent less likely to report experiencing ED, while those drinking between 171 and 303 milligrams per day were 39 percent less likely to do so compared to those drinking less than seven milligrams per day.

The trend held true between men who were overweight, obese, or had hypertension, but not with those who were diabetic, the study said. Dr. Lopez explained to redOrbit via email that this was not a surprise, as diabetes is “one of the strongest risk factors for erectile dysfunction… It seems caffeine intake was not strong enough to overcome the detrimental effect caused by diabetes.”

So what is the mechanism behind this outcome?

“The suggested biological mechanism is that caffeine triggers a series of pharmacological effects that lead to the relaxation of the penile helicine arteries, and the cavernous smooth muscle that lines cavernosal spaces, thus increasing penile blood flow,” added Dr. Lopez, a clinical assistant professor at the UTH and the University of Texas School of Public Health.

In a statement, he and his co-authors explained that 18.4 percent of men at least 20 years of age suffer from ED, which indicates that more than 18 million US males are affected. Caffeine, which for the purposes of the study came from sources including coffee, tea, and soft drinks, is consumed by at least 85 percent of all adults, previous studies have reported.

“We only found an association here; therefore, we can’t infer causality nor give any clinical recommendation at this moment,” Dr. Lopez concluded. “However, this is a good foundation to continue investigating the effects of caffeine on urological health outcomes, mainly in the conduct of prospective studies. And of course, more funding is needed for these kind of studies.”

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