In 2005, a study by William Fisher and his colleagues, on the sexual experience of women whose male partners suffered from erectile dysfunction, was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine (volume 2; pages 675-684). Research on erectile dysfunction has largely looked at the experience of this condition among men; far less attention has been paid to the perceptions and sexual experiences of their women partners. The study by Fisher and his colleagues was carried out to explore the attitudes, beliefs, and sexual experience of those women.With the consent of each of their men partners, 293 women completed a questionnaire on their sexual experience, both before and after the development of their partner's erectile problem, and in relation to their partner's use prescribed drugs to deal with it. This study was part of a larger long term on-going research programme.
The women reported less frequent sexual activity after their partners developed erectile problems than before. Fewer women experienced sexual desire, arousal or orgasm and fewer women reported satisfaction with their sexual relationship after their partner developed his erectile problem than before. Decreases in the women’s sexual satisfaction and frequency of orgasm were related to the severity of their man’s erectile problem. However, the proportion of women who experienced sexual desire, arousal and orgasm at least "most times" was higher in the group whose men were using prescribed drugs to manage their erections.Overall, erectile dysfunction was shown to have an adverse effects on the woman partner's sexual experience. Women with partners who were using prescribed drugs had a more satisfying sexual experience than those whose partners did not.
