A whopping 50.2 per cent Chinese males above 40 suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) to some extent, but most of them are reluctant to see a doctor, an authoritative nationwide survey has revealed.

According to the survey, 52.5 per cent of Chinese men over 40 years old suffer from ED to some extent, more than 90 per cent of ED patients conceded that the disease had badly disturbed their sexual lives and influenced their own feeling of masculine spirit at the same time.

The investigation covered more than 1,000 ED patients in more than ten cities for six months, Xinhua news agency quoted the deputy director with the reproductive centre in Beijing People's Hospital Jiang Hui as saying.

Jiang released the report on the fifth national andrology conference held on Sunday in Nanjing, capital of
east China's Jiangsu province.

The investigation is believed to be the first systematic survey made by Chinese medical institution on men's sexual health.

The survey found that Chinese patients with erectile dysfunction go to see doctors 22 months on average after developing the disease, much longer than the average six months in Western nations.

The Chinese ED patients go to doctors 22 months after experiencing symptoms on average while those in Beijing and Shanghai wait 34.3 months and 30.4 months respectively, the survey shows.

"The unnecessary delay misses the best time for treatment and makes the disease more serious, and inevitably will influence reins between husbands and wives," noted Jiang.