Regular use of erectile dysfunction drug raises risk of vision loss - Study

Regular use of tadalafil, a drug commonly prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction and urinary symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate, may be linked to a slightly increased risk of glaucoma, a new study has found.

The study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, however, does not suggest that sexual activity causes blindness or that occasional use of tadalafil leads to vision loss.

Tadalafil, widely known by the brand name Cialis, belongs to a group of medicines called phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. Sildenafil, commonly sold as Viagra, is another drug in the same class.

Researchers examined anonymised health records from the TriNetX Analytics Network and identified 36,927 men aged 40 years and above who had no previous diagnosis of glaucoma and had been prescribed tadalafil regularly for at least three months.