Having Trouble Getting It Up? You Could Have A Higher Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes, Study Finds

It's estimated that roughly one out of every ten Americans has diabetes1, with over 90% of those people having type 2 diabetes. But how many people have undiagnosed prediabetes and type 2 diabetes?

For this study, researchers from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine wanted to understand the link between erectile dysfunction (ED) and diabetes risk.

As they note in their research, ED is common in people with type 2 diabetes, but it's also more common in the general population than type 2 diabetes. So they set out to test whether there was a link between the two conditions.

To find out, they looked at health data of nearly 2 million young men with and without ED, including the onset of prediabetes and/or type 2 diabetes where applicable.

If you've been struggling with ED, the time is now to make some healthy changes. As study co-author Jane Tucker, M.D. notes in a news release, their findings indicate "a remarkable ability to predict the potential onset of illness and treat it early with lifestyle or medication."

And while you'll need to talk to your doctor about medication, when it comes to lifestyle tips, we've got some research-backed options for you.

For one thing, another recent study indicated that physical activity could work nearly as well as medication for erectile dysfunction—not to mention working out has the added bonus of lowering your diabetes risk3, too. Here are our favorite workouts for men to do to help boost sex drive!

Getting adequate sleep is also a pillar of overall health, with research indicating that insufficient sleep and sleep disorders4 have been identified as novel and important risk factors for the development of diabetes.