The Link Between Air Pollution and Teenage Erectile Dysfunction?

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We would all like to think that we are more liberal than generations before us. Truth be told, we are still prudish when it comes to matters of sexuality and anatomy. Gender pronouns and their uses might have undergone a metamorphosis, but the discomfort with regards to matters genital hasn’t. Often the birds and the bees are discussed under sterile, almost clinical circumstances, leaving children to more or less sort fact from fiction by themselves. This groping in the dark has become a right of passage of sorts in certain parts of the world. Unfortunately, in cases where the searching children, in this case, teens, discover an anatomical abnormality in themselves, this ignorance often turns from pubescent discovery to medical disaster in the blink of an eye. A broad spectrum of such problems falls under teenage boys’ sexual health.

As comedian Dylan Moran jests, and I paraphrase, growing up a boy is easy. You have a finger up your nose and the other hand on your bits* and you grow taller. That’s just about it. Which is a prevailing sentiment when it comes to the general perception of boys and men and their members. But things are far from smooth, and hardly that easy for many young males who grow up in a pervasive silence overshadowed by the expectations of hyper-masculinity and hyper-sexuality. Not being able to provide what young men understand to be mainstays of ‘real men’, they continue to agonize over solutions, often times aggravating problems that could have otherwise have easily been solved.

Erectile Dysfunction

One in every ten men suffers from erectile dysfunction. And while cases of ED have long since come to be associated with aging men and their declining hormones, it is increasingly becoming the case that younger and younger men report instances of ED long before their thirtieth birthday. Obviously, we can point an accusing finger at our modern lifestyles. A sedentary lifestyle has contributed to the ballooning of obesity rates all across the world, therefore becoming one of the leading causes of ED. Increased levels of stress, bad diets and irregular patterns have also been touted as some causes for ED. But there is one insidious cause that until recently had gone entirely unnoticed.

Air Pollution and Erectile Dysfunction

A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine by researchers at Guangzhou University detailed how vehicle exhaust could contribute to erectile dysfunction. They conducted an experiment on four discrete groups of rats, with each being exposed to different levels of vehicle exhaust. At the end of the three-month experiment, those in the group exposed to higher rates of vehicle exhaust were found to have difficulty achieving erections. It might induce a giggle or two, trying to imagine a rat trying to achieve an erection, but the research in itself unearthed important findings. Common side effects of air pollution such as reduced lung capacity, systemic inflammation, and pulmonary dysfunction all contribute to ED.

This is of great concern to those of us who live in cities with less than idyllic air quality conditions. It also puts a different spin on the “birds and bees” talk all parents must have with their children. It is important to not only educate young boys how their anatomy functions, but also why, and what they should look out for. And in the case where this is not the case, they should report these problems to their parents. But also, the importance of not only wearing masks while out and about but also the need to invest in a good air purifier as a precaution.

Photos: Fatherly, wellingtonretreat.com, hosbeg.com, CNBC, pixabay

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