Erectile Dysfunction – Economical

An attempt was made to estimate the economical impact of ED in the United Kingdom. In this study (conducted from 1997 to 1998) on the cost of ED in the National Health Service (NHS), it was estimated that £53 million was spent to manage 113,600 patients with ED. The main cost driver was outpatient visits, which accounted for 65% of the cost. Drugs accounted for 25% and genito-urinary consultations, and pros-theses accounted for only 4% of the cost. It was estimated that the NHS managed 35% of the population with ED.

Assuming that this was representative, the total population of individuals in the United Kingdom was estimated to be approximately 325,600. It has been further estimated that these men incur £7.0 million in cost directly attributable to ED (19.63 d/yr to lost work), thus costing the society another £2.2 million in lost gross domestic product. It was concluded that ED imposes a relatively small economical bur-den on the UK Society (£53 million), of which 83% is borne by the NHS, 13% is borne by patients, and 4% is borne as indirect costs to society resulting from lost productivity. The authors stated that the future burden would depend largely on patient’s eligibility to receive treatment under the NHS.