Clinical features of and couple's attitudes towards premature ejaculation: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Introduction: The current study aimed to investigate the clinical features of and couple's attitudes towards premature ejaculation (PE). Methods: Qualified patients were continuously enrolled from 15 medical centers in different regions of China. Patient data were collected from March 1 2017 to July 31 2017. All men were assessed by the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) and Intravaginal Ejaculation Latency Time (IELT). Besides, sexual desire, force of ejaculation, and the five-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) score were recorded. The couple's attitudes towards PE were evaluated by a self-designed questionnaire. Results: In total, 1033 males diagnosed with PE and their sexual partners and 3176 males without PE were enrolled. The mean PEDT and IELT scores of the patients with PE were 14.38 +/- 3.68 and 1.59 +/- 0.85, respectively. IIEF-5, sexual desire, and force of ejaculation significantly decreased in patients with PE. Among the 1033 couples, 44.3%, 21.39%, and 33.98% of the couples were seeking PE because of the dissatisfaction of the males, the females or both partners, respectively. In terms of the males who were dissatisfied with PE, 49.51% and 17.86% complained of short IELT and inability to control ejaculation. In terms of the females dissatisfied with PE, 41.61%, 19.93%, 21.68%, and 14.51% complained of arousal difficulty, weak sexual desire, failing to have organism and poor relationship, respectively. Conclusions: PE has a negative impact on erectile function, sexual desire, and force of ejaculation. Sexual partners play important roles in the medical procedures for addressing PE.