Prevalence of Premature Ejaculation Among Sexually Active Men in Zaria,North-Western Nigeria, and Their Help-Seeking Behaviour

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

Premature ejaculation is the most common sexual dysfunction in men younger than 40 years. It is the occurrence of ejaculation prior to the wishes of both sexual partners with negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration and or the avoidance of sexual intimacy. It causes marital dysfunction, depression and altered self- esteem in our society today. Despite this, there is no health services specially designed to address it and other sexual dysfunctions in Zaria and other parts of this country.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of premature ejaculation among sexually active men in Zaria and their help - seeking behaviour in the past 6 months.

METHODS: A  cross-sectional ,community- based, descriptive study involving three hundred consenting sexually active men in Zaria, Nigeria.  Respondents were selected by multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using a standard structured interviewer-administered questionnaire in which the 2007 definition of premature ejaculation by the International Society For Sexual Medicine was used to describe it. Data analysis was done using SPSS   statistical package.

RESULTS: The prevalence of premature ejaculation among sexually active respondents in Zaria was 21% .Most of them (71%) seek for help: 42% seek help from hospitals while the others (58%) seek help from chemist shops, traditional healers, spiritual healers,  e.t.c.  Although unmarried respondents seek for help more than their married counterparts (64%), there was no statistically significant association between marital status   of respondents with premature ejaculation and their help - seeking behaviour( X²=0.3500, p=0.554) .

 CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need for services geared towards alleviating sexual problems in our society because many men in developing countries suffer from it but have nowhere to go for specialist care.

Key words: premature ejaculation, prevalence, sexually active, men, Zaria.

Word count:  297 words.