PARENT SESSION
L'homme meurtri par le stress de la vie
Date:Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Time: 2:30 PM-4:30 PM

The male ravaged by daily stress / L′homme meurtri par les stress de la vie.

COSTA , Pierre ¹, BONDIL , Pierre ², CUZIN, Béatrice ³, BONIERBALE, Mireille ⁴, PORTO, Robert ⁵, BRENOT, Philippe ⁶, PUJOS-GAUTRAUD , Michèle ⁷, ¹ CHU Carémeau, Nimes, cedex, France² CHD Chambery, Chambery, cedex, France³ Hospital E Herriot, Lyon, cedex, France⁴ CHU Ste marguerite, Marseille cedex 09, cedex, France⁵ Psychiatrist-Sexologist, Marseille, cedex, France⁶ Paris V - University School of Medecine, Paris, cedex, France⁷ Psychiatrist-sexologist, Saint Emilion, cedex, France

ABSTRACT- This round table is presented by the ′ ′Inter Hospitalo Universitaire de Sexologie′′ (AIHUS), a French scientific society founded in 1983. President : Pierre COSTA Moderators; Robert PORTO Pierre Costa: In France, epidemiological studies show that the prevalence of ED is estimated at between 11 and 44%, according to age and the intensity of the erectile dysfunction. The relation between the ED and passing time, ageing, can be the consequence of a functional problem (difficulty in living in a modern environment, loss of self-confidence, deterioration of relations within the couple, etc.). There are many factors of comorbidity, but the psycho-sexological dimension for patients should not be overlooked. Pierre Bondil: It has been suspected for some time that there was a link between stress and erectile deficiency. Thanks to analytical epidemiology, stress has recently been identified as an independent and pertinent factor involved in erectile dysfunction. Nevertheless, erectile deficiency is in itself a source of stress (performance anxiety leading to avoidance tactics). The common denominator in this interdependence is an overactive orthosympathetic system responsible for a dysfunction in relaxation of the erectile tissues. Béatrice Cuzin explains how stressful situations can have a beneficial effect on a man′s sexual behaviour based on the various different approaches to stress and adjustment theories by which human beings store physical and psychological sexual strategies. Going beyond one′s capacities can though, in the long term, produce an inhibiting and destructive effect both at a psychological level and in terms of the corpus cavernosa, due to micro-lesions. Mireille Bonierbale investigates the role of life events on a group of 26 patients all suffering from secondary erection disorders. The Life-Events Questionnaire designed by F.Amiel-Lebigre has been used to list events experienced during the five years prior to the onset of the ED, or prior to responding to the questionnaire for 20 control subjects. The results show that there was a larger accumulation of life events during the year before the onset of ED for the patients than for the controls. The events most frequently reported involved the emotional area, a loss or bereavement. Robert Porto: Most research into ED has been conducted on men in heterosexual or conjugal relationships, where they are particularly confronted with the need to adjust to his partner′s personality, and maintain desire. We shall discuss factors related to the choice of partner, the variations in what the man is looking for in the ideal woman and the disappointment experienced in the imaginary contract. Philippe Brenot: Recent western demographic studies have shown that the longevity of a couple is inversely proportional to the longevity of the two partners, due to the increase in life-expectancy and a rise in the number of separations and divorce. The couple therefore has to face many paradoxes such as ageing for a young couple, ageing of one of the two partners, or both at the same time.. psychological, physical, sexual and erotic ageing. Michèle Pujos-Gautraud: Men are today faced with a new form of stress; how to cope with the changes taking place in their role within the couple. A new father involved in children′s education; are they prepared for this? How do they cope with these new attributes and what are the resulting stress levels? Does this change the couple? For the better? What are the consequences and pathologies affecting middle-aged men?

Key words: Couple, Age, Erectile Dysfunction, Stress, Life events