OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence of male sexual dysfunction in males with Parkinson's disease and the pathogenesis and related factors of the problem.

METHODSWe evaluated the sexual function of 140 men with Parkinson's disease using Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (Part III) (UPDRS III), Hoenhn-Yahr Staging (HYS), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Sexual Dysfunction Standard of ICD-10. We calculated the Levodopa equivalent doses (LED) for all the patients.

RESULTSSexual dysfunction was found in 58 (41.43%) of the patients with Parkinson's disease. There were no significant differences in age, education, age of onset, course of disease and scores on UPDRS III, HYS and LED between the sexual dysfunction and normal sexual function groups. The HAMD score was 14.95 +/- 9.12 in the sexual dysfunction group, significantly higher than 10.96 +/- 9.82 in the normal sexual function group (P < 0.05), and it was positively correlated with the inci- dence of male sexual dysfunction (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSexual dysfunction is a common symptom in males with Parkinson's disease, and is correlated with the high HAMD score of Parkinson's disease patients.