WASHINGTON: A new study has revealed that frequent intercourse can cut erectile dysfunction (ED) risk in men.

Researchers from Finland have revealed that men who had intercourse more often were less likely to develop ED.

Over the period of five years, the team studied 989 men between 55 to 75 years from Pirkanmaa, Finland.

They found that men who had intercourse less than once per week were twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Further, the risk of erectile dysfunction was inversely related to the frequency of intercourse.

Out of 1000 cases, 79 cases had men who had sexual intercourse less than once per week, which dropped to 32 cases per 1000 in men having intercourse once per week.

The number further dropped to 16 per 1000 in those reporting intercourse 3 or more times per week.

In addition, the frequency of morning erections predicted the development of complete erectile dysfunction, with an approximate 2.5-fold risk among those with less than 1 morning erection per week compared with 2 to 3 morning erections per week.

"Regular intercourse has an important role in preserving erectile function among elderly men, whereas morning erection does not exert a similar effect," said Juha Koskimaki of Tampere University Hospital, Department of Urology, Tampere, Finland.

"Continued sexual activity decreases the incidence of erectile dysfunction in direct proportion to coital frequency," Koskimaki added.

The study indicates that regular intercourse protects men from the development of erectile dysfunction, which may, in turn, impact general health and quality of life. The study is published in the July issue of The American Journal of Medicine.