That is a ridiculous statement, and borders on sounding like something Merck would say. Dr. Irwig’s methods were outlined in his paper.
He is far more qualified to make such statements/opinions as a professor of andrology at George Washington University, than any of us.
Methods
Subjects
Participants for this study reported sexual side
effects associated with finasteride which persisted
for at least 3 months despite cessation of the medication.
The indication for the medication was
MPHL, and all men started and completed finasteride
use before age 40. Men were excluded from
the study if they reported any of the following
before starting finasteride: baseline sexual dysfunction,
chronic medical conditions, psychiatric conditions,
a history of taking psychiatric medications
or baseline use of non-topical prescription medications
other than a short course of antibiotics.
Subjects were recruited from a previous study
(N = 54) relating to persistent sexual side effects of
finasteride [4]. Most subjects were initially
recruited from Propeciahelp.com, an Internet
forum dedicated to unresolved side effects of finasteride.
Other subjects were recruited from the
author’s clinical practice and from physician referrals.
All subjects provided written consent to this
study which was approved by the university’s institutional
review board.
Design
Telephone or spoken Skype standardized interviews
were conducted with all subjects as previously
described [4]. Subjects were asked about
demographic information, medical and psychiatric
histories, medication use, and sexual function
before and after finasteride. Follow-up e-mails
were sent to participants 9–16 months (mean 14
months) after their initial interview dates to reassess
their sexual function. Subjects were asked to
readminister the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale
(ASEX). The ASEX consists of five questions that
measure core elements of sexual function: libido,
arousal, erectile function, ability to reach orgasm,
and orgasm satisfaction [12]. Each domain was
measured bimodally, with a six-point Likert scale
ranging from hyperfunction (1) to hypofunction
(6). Sexual dysfunction was present if the total
score was 19 or if any one item was 5 or if any
three items were 4. The sensitivity and specificity
of this instrument to identify sexual dysfunction
were 82% and 90%, respectively [12]. The validation
of ASEX consisted of a control group of 16
men with a mean age of 38 [12]. Their mean scores
were 2.25 for sex drive, 2.19 for arousal, 2 for
erection, 2.69 for orgasm, and 1.81 for orgasm
satisfaction. The ASEX scale was found to have
excellent reliability coefficients for internal
consistency and test–retest forms, accuracy in
quantification of the major elements of sexual dysfunction,
and brevity and ease of administration
[13]. The scale could be administered regardless of
a subject’s sexual orientation or the availability of a
sexual partner.
Statistical Analysis
All analyses were performed using SAS Version 9.2
(SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) using a = 0.05 to
declare a result as statistically significant. Paired
two-tailed t-tests were used to test differences
between individual items and the total scores on
the ASEX questionnaire at three points in time:
before finasteride, after finasteride at the interview,
and after finasteride at reassessment.
