A study from Finnish researchers reveal that frequent sexual activities will help decrease a man’s chances of developing erectile dysfunction. “Anything you can do to bring blood to the penis is beneficial,” whether it’s masturbation or engaging in intercourse, because this keeps the blood vessels in the erectile tissues healthy.

"This is the same as any other part of the body. It's what we in vascular surgery refer to as the 'use it or lose it' concept. Sexual activity will promote maintenance of normal erectile function down the line," said Dr. Hossein Sadeghi-Nejad, an associate professor of urology at UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School Hackensack University Medical Center.

Headed by Dr. Juha Koskimaki of Finland’s Tampere University Hospital's Department of Urology, the study involved sending questionnaires to 989 Finnish men aged 55 to 75, who didn’t have erectile dysfunction at the beginning of the survey; a follow-up questionnaire was sent five years later. Those who had sex on a weekly basis were half as likely to develop erectile dysfunction as men who engaged in sexual intercourse less than once a week. Those who had sex three or more times a week were only a fourth as likely.

 "Regular sexual activity preserves potency in a similar fashion as physical exercise maintains functional capacity," said Dr. Koskimaki. Though the questionnaire didn’t ask about masturbation, the researchers believed that it offers the same benefits as sexual intercourse.
The study, published in July issue of The American Journal of Medicine, reported that for every 1,000 men that had sex less than once a week, there were 79 cases of erectile dysfunction. For those who had sex once a week, 32 cases. For those who had sex three or more times a week, 16 cases.

Though the occurrence of morning erections was not associated with the development of moderate erectile dysfunction, their frequency can predict the possibility of complete erectile dysfunction. For men who had less than one morning erection each week, the likelihood of developing erectile dysfunction was two-and-a-half times greater than that of men who had 2-3 morning erections each week.
"Regular intercourse has an important role in preserving erectile function among elderly men, whereas morning erection does not exert a similar effect. Continued sexual activity decreases the incidence of erectile dysfunction in direct proportion to coital frequency," said Dr. Koskimaki in a statement.

The results from this study also have important implications for patients recovering from prostate cancer treatment.
“What is very hot these days is what we can do to rehabilitate people who develop erection problems after prostate cancer surgery or radiation therapy. Anything you can do to increase oxygenation in the penis will help get patients back to normal,” said Dr. Sadeghi-Nejad.