Published on January 27, 2009 at 1:24 AM
According to a study of Australian men alcohol improves rather than damages a man's sexual performance, a finding which is contrary to widely held belief that alcohol consumption can cause erectile dysfunction, or 'brewer's droop'.
The study of 1,580 Australian by researchers from Western Australia has found that men who were drinkers had up to 30% fewer problems than 'teetotallers'.
The researchers made this surprising discovery after conducting a survey using a questionnaire which included sociodemographic details, self-reported clinical information and drinking habits and using an index of erectile function - 87% of the participants were current alcohol drinkers.
The researchers led by Dr. Kew-Kim Chew from the Keogh Institute for Medical Research, say alcohol consumption is currently a contentious issue and is often assumed to have deleterious effects on sexual performance.
The researchers say men who drank within safe guidelines appeared to have the best erectile function but even binge drinkers had lower rates of erectile dysfunction than those who never drank.
Dr. Chew says low-risk drinkers - those who have four drinks a day for up to five days a week, fared best and those who fared worse were former drinkers who had given up alcohol, along with smokers and those who had heart disease.
Dr. Chew says their findings suggest a favourable association between low-risk drinking and positive erectile function and if a moderate drinker suffers from such problems, there is no justification in advising him to stop or reduce his intake.
The researchers found that weekend drinkers, high-risk drinkers and those who exceeded alcohol intake guidelines had lower rates of erectile dysfunction than those who drank one day a week or less and Dr. Chew says compared to those who have never touched alcohol, many people do benefit from some alcohol.