Scientists have found that erectile dysfunction (ED) is linked to undiagnosed prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in young men under age 40.

ED is more common in older individuals with long-term type 2 diabetes. The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, found that ED patients have a 34 per cent increased risk for prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, 75 per cent of patients developed prediabetes or type 2 diabetes within a year of ED diagnosis, said the team from Saint Louis University School of Medicine in the US.

Jane Tucker, associate professor of family and community medicine and Jeffrey Scherrer, professor of family and community medicine examined data to look at the connection between type 2 diabetes and ED.

Researchers designed the study to determine the risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes among young men with and without new ED diagnoses and the time between a new ED diagnosis and the onset of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

This retrospective study reviewed the electronic health data of 1,915,468 patients from 2008-22.

“This indicates a remarkable ability to predict the potential onset of illness and treat it early with lifestyle or medication,” Tucker said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 8.5 million adults have undiagnosed diabetes, and a quarter of these cases are among young persons 18 to 44.