If you wonder how diabetes can impact your health, read the following to learn how you can benefit from screening.
What Is Diabetes?
When someone has a medical condition that affects how well they are able to convert food into energy, they have diabetes. With diabetes, somebody’s blood sugar is too high. Typically, your body should be able to break down most of the foods you eat into sugar, which is then released into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, your pancreas is signaled to release insulin, a peptide hormone that lets blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy. In people with diabetes, their body does not create enough insulin or they are not able to utilize it as well as they should. There is no cure for diabetes, but the condition can be managed with medication, exercise, and a healthy diet.
What Is The Link Between Diabetes And Heart Disease?
Heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women in America. People with diabetes are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart disease, compared to someone without diabetes at the same age. Diabetes affects health in the following ways:
- High blood pressure. This increases the force of blood through your arteries and can potentially damage the artery walls.
- Bad cholesterol can form plaque on artery walls and narrow your blood vessels and reduce proper blood flow.
- High triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood) are thought to harden arteries, along with bad cholesterol.
Studies show that if more men in their 40s get tested for diabetes, they could potentially avoid life-threatening health issues further down the line. If doctors catch diabetes early in the “pre-diabetes” stage, intervening with changes to diet and exercise could prevent both heart disease and full-fledged diabetes.
Can Diabetes Cause Erectile Dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction is a medical condition characterized by the inability to achieve and maintain an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse. Men with erectile dysfunction can also experience difficulty reaching climax. Erectile dysfunction, abbreviated as ED, is reported to potentially contribute to relationship problems, cause stress, and issues with one’s self-confidence.
ED can often be a sign of another underlying health issue, which, when diagnosed, can even be enough to reverse erectile dysfunction. (This does depend on the treatability of the other health issues.) ED is more common in middle-aged to older men. Approximately 30 million men in the United States have the condition. While aging does not necessarily increase someone’s chances for erectile dysfunction, studies show that men with diabetes are three times more likely to have ED. Erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes can also be a warning sign of heart disease, as ED can indicate blood vessel problems.
What Are Other Health Issues Diabetes Can Cause In Men?
- UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections). This is an infection that affects the urinary system, which includes the kidneys, the tubes that link the kidneys to the bladder, the bladder, or the urethra (opening through which urine exits the body).
- Overactive bladder. Someone may experience the need to urinate more often than normal and may experience leaking.
- Incontinence. This includes a leaking bladder or complete loss of bladder control.
- Retrograde ejaculation. This is when semen enters the bladder instead of exiting the penis during ejaculation.
If you are interested in seeking care in New York, consider SoHo Men’s Health, the first men’s health and wellness experience in New York City. SoHo Men’s Health is proud to offer a number of sexual and reproductive health services for men. Call 347-749-1174 to ask about your options for wellness and rejuvenation today.
