Ejaculatio praecox (EP; synonyms: ejaculatio precox; ejaculatio praecox; premature ejaculation; ICD-10-GM F52.4: ejaculatio praecox) is premature ejaculation (occurring earlier than desired) in men during sexual intercourse. This may occur before or during penetration of the vagina (sheath).
Ejaculatio praecox belongs to the group of ejaculation disorders along with delayed ejaculation (ejaculatio retarda) and absent or impossible ejaculation.
Furthermore, ejaculatio praecox is one of the most common sexual dysfunctions in men. Almost every man will have experienced premature ejaculation at some time in his life. However, this is only considered pathological if premature ejaculation occurs in the majority of sexual contacts.
The International Society of Sexual Medicine (ISSM) guideline defines ejaculatio praecox [see guidelines below] as follows:
- Ejaculation always or almost always occurs before or within one minute of vaginal penetration, either since the first sexual experience (lifelong premature effusion) or the latency has decreased significantly, often to less than three minutes (acquired premature effusion).
- It is impossible to delay ejaculation in all or almost all vaginal penetrations.
- The situation has negative consequences for the sufferer, such as stress, anger, frustration and/or avoidance of sexual intimacy.
The so-called IELT – “intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IVELT) – describes the period from the insertion of the penis into the vagina until ejaculation in the vagina. The perceived normal time from penetration to ejaculation averages 7 minutes. In men with ejaculatio praecox, the IELT is less than 2 minutes.
Peak incidence: the incidence of ejaculatio praecox is similar in all age groups.
The prevalence (disease incidence) is 25-30% of the male population (worldwide). In continents such as Asia, Central and South America, the prevalence is higher.In a cross-sectional study, a research group from the University of Naples surveyed more than 1,000 men: based on the analysis of standardized questionnaires, 19% of the subjects were diagnosed with ejaculatio praecox. 64% of those affected had always had premature ejaculation (= lifelong premature ejaculation); in 35% the problem had occurred later in life.
Course and prognosis: Ejaculatio praecox leads to permanent dissatisfaction in at least one of the partners. Initially, organic and drug-related causes should be ruled out. As a rule, psycho- and behavioral therapeutic measures are in the foreground of the therapy. The therapy of ejaculatio praecox is understood as couple therapy. Sex therapy provides the best prognosis.
Comorbidities (concomitant diseases): in many cases, patients with sexual dysfunction have depression (12.5%) and/or anxiety disorders (23.4%).
