The prevalence of Peyronie's disease: results of a large survey

Objectives To determine the prevalence of Peyronie's disease. a localized c onnective tissue disorder of the penile tunica albuginea. the symptoms of w hich include palpable plaque. painful erections and curvature of the penis, in a large sample of men in Germany. Subjects and methods A standardized questionnaire was sent to 8000 male inh abitants (age range 30-80 years) or the greater Cologne area (approximate t o 1.5 million inhabitants). Three questions about the self-diagnosis of Pey ronie's disease were previously assessed for validity on 158 healthy men an d 24 patients with confirmed Peyronie's disease. To optimize the response r ate, the questionnaire was mailed three times to all the men. Results The response rate after the third mailing was 55.4% (4432 men): 142 men (3.2%, mean age 57.4 years. SD 13.4) reported the new appearance of a palpable plaque which. from the previous validation. was the most sensitive question and the main symptom of the disease, fn men aged 30-39 years only reported localized penile induration. compared with 3.0% in those 40-49 an d 50-59 years. 4.0%, in those 60-69 years and 6.5% of those > 70 years old. Newly occurring angulation was reported by 119 of the 142 men (84%) and pa inful erection by 66 (46.5%). The combination of the three symptoms (plaque , deviation and painful erection) was reported by 46 of the 4432 respondent s (1.04%), i.e. 32% of the 142 men with penile induration: 58 of the 142 me n (41%) reported erectile dysfunction. Conclusions This is the first large cross-sectional, community-based study to examine the prevalence of Peyronie's disease. Using previously validated questions the prevalence of Peyronie's disease in the sample was 3.2% : th is is much higher than indicated in previous reports. A comparably high pre valence is reported for diabetes and urolithiasis. suggesting that this 'ra re' disease is more widespread than previously thought.