Smoking linked to erectile dysfunction

New Orleans -- Smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction, a U.S. report said.

The study by Tulane University, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that the more cigarettes smoked, the greater the risk.

Epidemiologist Jiang He examined the association between cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction in a Chinese study involving 7,684 men ages of 35-74 who did not have vascular disease.

The association between smoking and erectile dysfunction was even stronger in participants with diabetes, the university said Friday in a release.

The study said an estimated 22.7 percent of erectile dysfunction cases among Chinese men might be attributable to cigarette smoking.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.