Background Disability rates increase with age. In 2012, Peruvian older adults ( 65 years) represented 9% of the population. Additionally, older population reported disabilities at about 5 times the rate of Peruvians between 36 and 64 years old, and 30% of older population lived in poverty. Peruvian seniors living in extreme poverty experience disabilities and the extent of their access to healthcare is unknown. Objective This study assesses associations between disability and access to healthcare among Peruvians older individuals living in extreme poverty. Methods Secondary analysis of a national representative population based survey that utilizes information from Peru’s 2012 survey Health and Wellbeing in Older Adults (ESBAM), which includes older adults living in extreme poverty. We define disability in terms of the Activities of Daily Living (ADL disability) framework. Healthcare access was assessed as having any of Peru’s available health insurance schemes combined with preventive health services (vision assessment, influenza vaccination, blood pressure assessment, diabetes screening, and cholesterol assessment). Poisson robust regression models were used to evaluate the associations among relevant variables. Prevalence Ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were reported. Results Data from 3869 individuals (65 to 80 years old), of whom 1760 (45.5%) were females, were analyzed. The prevalence of ADL disability was 17.3% (95%CI: 16.0%-18.4%). In addition, more than 60% had never received any of the preventive measures evaluated, except for the blood pressure assessment. In the adjusted model, people with ADL disability had 63% less probability of having extensive insurance, compared to those without disability (p<0.05). Conclusions This study shows that this Peruvian older population living in extreme poverty has limited access to healthcare services. Although there was no consistent association between ADL disability and the healthcare access, there is an urgent need to reduce the inequitable access to healthcare of this poor Peruvian older population. / Wellcome Trust / Revisión por pares

<p>In the present thesis, three empirical studies investigate autobiographical odor memory with regard to: (a) whole life-span age distributions, (b) phenomenological experience, (c) semantic processing, and (d) odor imagery. Study I explored potential influences of cue type (words, pictures, odors) on the retrieval of autobiographical memories. The results indicated that odor-evoked events were older than memories evoked by words and pictures. The bump for olfactory evoked information peaked in the first decade of life (<10 years of age), whereas the bump of the word- and picture-evoked age distributions peaked in the second decade (i.e., 11-20 years of age). Also, olfactory evoked events were associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time. Study II investigated the influence of verbal processing on the retrieval of autobiographical olfactory information. The results revealed that semantic knowledge (i.e., the odor name) affected both the age distribution and phenomenological experience. Also, olfactory memories were associated with a higher emotional arousal. Study III addressed the influences of olfactory imagery on the age distribution and phenomenological experiences. The results showed that events evoked by odor imagery were older than memories evoked by words. No differences in phenomenological experiences were found between the two cue conditions. Based on these findings, it is suggested that (a) memories evoked by olfactory information are older than memories evoked by verbal and visual information, (b) odor memories are more emotional and associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time, (c) knowledge of an odor’s name produces a shift from a more perceptually to a more conceptually driven retrieval, and that (d) imagined odor cues mimic the age distribution of events evoked by real odors. Overall, the results suggest that memories triggered by the olfactory sensory system are different from memories evoked by verbal or visual information.</p>

In the present thesis, three empirical studies investigate autobiographical odor memory with regard to: (a) whole life-span age distributions, (b) phenomenological experience, (c) semantic processing, and (d) odor imagery. Study I explored potential influences of cue type (words, pictures, odors) on the retrieval of autobiographical memories. The results indicated that odor-evoked events were older than memories evoked by words and pictures. The bump for olfactory evoked information peaked in the first decade of life (&lt;10 years of age), whereas the bump of the word- and picture-evoked age distributions peaked in the second decade (i.e., 11-20 years of age). Also, olfactory evoked events were associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time. Study II investigated the influence of verbal processing on the retrieval of autobiographical olfactory information. The results revealed that semantic knowledge (i.e., the odor name) affected both the age distribution and phenomenological experience. Also, olfactory memories were associated with a higher emotional arousal. Study III addressed the influences of olfactory imagery on the age distribution and phenomenological experiences. The results showed that events evoked by odor imagery were older than memories evoked by words. No differences in phenomenological experiences were found between the two cue conditions. Based on these findings, it is suggested that (a) memories evoked by olfactory information are older than memories evoked by verbal and visual information, (b) odor memories are more emotional and associated with stronger feelings of being brought back in time, (c) knowledge of an odor’s name produces a shift from a more perceptually to a more conceptually driven retrieval, and that (d) imagined odor cues mimic the age distribution of events evoked by real odors. Overall, the results suggest that memories triggered by the olfactory sensory system are different from memories evoked by verbal or visual information.

No description available.

This study investigated the effects of high age-concentration of residential environment on: (1) the morale of the elderly; and (2) mutual-aid patterns with neighbors of the elderly. Empirical tests of hypotheses derived from the socio-environmental approach to aging were performed. The socio-environmental approach suggested that persons were most satisfied with themselves when there was congruency between what was expected of them by others in the environment and what they expected of themselves. As the local environment became concentrated with old people, the variety of situations with which persons were confronted was quite narrow in terms of demands on the elderly individual's behavior. In age-heterogeneous settings, however, the variety of situations that persons encountered were maximal, and the demands on behavior in this setting was great.

The dissertation focuses on the different determinants of education, their effects on the educational outcome, and the overall effect of education on the lifetime consequences. The first chapter focuses on the inequality of educational opportunity across different demographic factors. This chapter employs a broader set of social factors to provide fresh insights into the inequality situation in the USA relative to those of the extant literature. The chapter employs polynomial trends for the effects of social factors to identify long-term trends in the determinants of the differences in attainment of each of four achievements (high school graduation, some college, college graduation, and post-college work) across different endogenous social groups. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data for the years of 1968-2013, we show how inequality of educational opportunity and its determinants have evolved over the years. The chapter utilizes the machine-learning process and logistic regression model to identify inequality of opportunity. The second chapter examines the age demographic distribution of graduates across cohorts from 1940 until 1990. Using the PSID data, the paper explored the first and second moment of the age of graduating from high school and college across the US. To deal with the data deficiencies, a large part of the chapter dealt with data preparation. The chapter provides a unique method of extracting information on the graduating age of the individuals both from high school and from college. The results show a large dispersion across the full sample. The data truncated to a standard length, however, provides a much smaller dispersion and much smaller moments. The chapter concludes that as the time passes, people tend to attain education at a younger age. The third chapter investigates the trends of the contribution of different factors of income starting from 1910 cohort. Following Mincer (1974), a wave of papers studied how various factors contribute to the earnings of individuals. This paper contributes to that literature in three ways: (i) using the PSID data, it computes the actual working experience of the individuals, (ii) it studies the cohorts who were born in 1910 or afterwards, unlike the existing papers, and (iii) it adds two variables—technological progress and the occupation with which individuals start their careers—to an extended Mincerian equation. The results re-emphasize the importance of education in lifetime earnings. The results also show that while some of the determinants of income have become more important over the years, other factors have not changed much in importance. / PHD / The reason for choosing the theme ‘Evolution of the Determinants of Educational Attainment and its Consequences’ was to investigate the different determinants of education, their effects on the educational outcome, and the overall effect of education on the lifetime consequences. Education is considered as one of the tools to eradicate poverty. Yet, countries with high educational coverage keeps suffering from poverty, a reason for which is higher inequality of opportunity. In the first chapter, entitled ‘Inequality in Educational Opportunity in the United States’, opportunity inequality in education is illustrated. Much inequality stems from differences in educational attainment. A lack of educational attainment puts an individual behind in the career race, even before the race has started. While individuals are responsible for some of the differences in educational attainment, there are factors outside the control of individuals that play substantial roles. The inequality that arises from these factors is known as inequality of opportunity. This paper focuses on inequality of educational opportunity across socioeconomic background, race, and sex. The factors that are analyzed for their contributions to inequality of educational opportunity are father’s education, father’s occupation, mother’s education, and economic status of the individual’s family. The results show that inequality of opportunity has seen a consistent decline for high school completion. The inequality of opportunity (IO) declines for obtaining some college education for the bottom two social groups and remained persistent for the relatively more advantaged group. For college/post-college education, the IO is much lower and, in general, remained persistent across the social strata. Although the females were behind the males – given the equal opportunity – regardless of the race and socioeconomic status during the beginning and the mid twentieth century, the scenario reversed in the late twentieth century. In terms of educational disparity among races, African Americans trail their White counterparts along all the years. The second chapter ‘First and Second Moments of the Age Distributions of Graduates’ looks into the age characteristics (mean and variance) in graduating from high school and college across the cohorts from 1940s to 1990s. The idea of the paper largely came from the first chapter of the dissertation as we assumed the lack of opportunity at the earlier age could delay the attainment of education. The paper intends to find out the average age of graduation over the years. In the process, the paper put forward a method to extract the information of age of graduation from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data, as the database does not readily avail the information. The chapter concludes that as the time passes, people tend to attain education at a much younger age. Titled as ‘Factors Affecting Income: Education, Experience, and Beyond’, the third chapter investigates the contribution of different factors – education, experience, parental endowments, and labor market conditions – in the returns to education using the PSID data and compare the more recent scenarios with the past. This paper focuses on the trend of the rate of return to different factors of income across the two cohorts – those born between 1910 and 1950, and those born after 1950 – while identifying the changes in the returns for the same education level over time. The paper aims to find out how the contribution of the different factors of earning has changed in the USA over the years. The paper also intends to find out the role of technological progress in reducing the earning gaps across the different social groups. The results re-emphasize the importance of education in lifetime earnings. Experience has become a more important factor of income over the years. The chapter also suggests that income of an individual is a monotonic function of socioeconomic endowments and better endowments resulted in higher returns. Lastly, the chapter finds that the technological investment is progressive in manner.

Adjustment of a given age distribution to a desired age distribution within a required time frame is dynamically performed for the purpose of Human Resource (HR) planning in Human Resource Management (HRM). The adjustment process is carried out by adding the adjustment magnitudes to the existing number of employees at the selected age groups on the yearly basis. A model of a discrete dynamical system is employed to emulate the evolution of the age distribution used under the adjustment process. Genetic Algorithms (GA) is applied for determining the adjustment magnitudes that influence the dynamics of the system. An interesting aspect of the problem lies in the high number of constraints; though the constraints are fundamental, they are considerably higher in number than in many other optimization problems. An adaptive penalty scheme is proposed for handling the constraints. Numerical examples show that GA with the utilized adaptive penalty scheme provides potential means for HR planning in HRM.

INTRODUÇÃO: Raramente os estudos populacionais sobre disfunção erétil (DE) incluem homens com menos de 40 anos de idade e, quando o fazem, não há detalhamento dos vários fatores e conseqüências potencialmente associados a esta condição. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a prevalência da disfunção erétil e seus fatores associados em amostra da população brasileira de 18 a 40 anos. MÉTODOS: O Estudo da Vida Sexual do Brasileiro (EVSB) entrevistou 7.022 homens e mulheres em locais públicos de 18 grandes centros urbanos do Brasil por meio de um questionário auto-responsivo que abordava aspectos demográficos, de saúde, de hábitos e dificuldades sexuais, sendo a presença de disfunção erétil avaliada por questão única. De todo o grupo, 1.947 eram do sexo masculino e da faixa etária de 18 a 40 anos. RESULTADOS: Um total de 35% dos indivíduos do estudo tinha queixas de disfunção erétil (73,7% dos quais sendo DE mínima e 26,3% moderada/completa). O relato de DE foi mais freqüente na faixa etária mais jovem (18 a 25 anos), nos indivíduos da raça negra, parda ou amarela e no grupo que tinha menor escolaridade; na analise de regressão múltipla, porém, dentre esses fatores, somente o baixo grau de instrução permaneceu fortemente associado à presença de DE. Estado civil e situação empregatícia não influenciaram a prevalência de problemas de ereção. Não foi encontrada associação de maior freqüência de DE em homens com histórico de tabagismo, obesidade, diabetes, hipertensão, sedentarismo, cardiopatia, hiperlipidemia, depressão ou ansiedade. Orientação sexual não se relacionou com maior prevalência de DE, porém a falta de informações sobre sexo durante a vida, dificuldades no início da vida sexual e a ausência do hábito de masturbação correlacionaram-se com uma maior chance de queixas de DE. Para toda a população do estudo, as fontes recentes de informação sobre sexo foram principalmente os livros e revistas, seguidos pela conversa com a parceira e com amigos, sendo a orientação médica xvi menos citada pelo grupo. Outros problemas sexuais, como ejaculação precoce, retardada e diminuição de libido, foram mais freqüentes em homens com DE, em comparação aos homens sem esta disfunção. Menos de 10% dos homens com DE relataram já terem recebido tratamento para o problema e cerca de 3% de indivíduos sem queixas de DE declararam terem feito uso de medicações para melhora da ereção. A DE causou impacto negativo em várias áreas da vida dos portadores desta disfunção: no relacionamento com a parceira e amigos, no trabalho e lazer, além da auto-estima dos indivíduos com o problema, causando também auto-avaliação negativa quanto ao desempenho e a vida sexual. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de DE, mesmo na população abaixo de 40 anos, foi alta, com preponderância da forma leve. Baixa escolaridade e problemas na iniciação sexual associaram-se com a presença de DE e, provavelmente devido a pouca idade dos indivíduos da amostra, não foi encontrada associação de DE com problemas de saúde de causa orgânica. Ações nas áreas de educação e prevenção teriam um impacto positivo no controle de disfunção erétil na população / INTRODUCTION: Populational studies in erectile dysfunction (ED) rarely included subjects less than 40 years old and, when this was done, there were no information on the several factors and consequences potentially associated with this condition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) and associated factors in a sample of Brazilian men aged 18 to 40 years old. METHODS: The Brazilian Sexual Life Study interviewed 7,022 men and women in public places of 18 major Brazilian cities using a self-administered questionnaire that investigated social-demographic and health aspects, life habits and sexual difficulties, including ED, which was assessed by a single question. From the whole group, 1,947 were men between 18 and 40 years old. RESULTS: Complaints of ED were found in 35.0% of the study subjects (73.7% had mild ED; 26.3% moderate/complete ED). Greater frequency of ED report was seen in younger subjects (18 to 25 years), in men of black, mixed or Asian races, and in the group with less education; in the multiple regression analyses, among these factors, only low level of education remained strongly associated with ED diagnosis. Employment and marital status didnt affect the prevalence of erection problems. No association was seen between ED report and medical history of smoking, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, cardiopathy, hyperlipidemia, depression or anxiety. Sexual orientation was not correlated to greater ED frequency, but the lack of information about sex, difficulties in the beginning of sexual life and absence of masturbation habit were related to an increased chance of ED diagnosis. Recent sources of information about sex were mainly books and magazines, followed by talking to the partner and friends, being medical advice less mentioned by the whole study population. Other sexual disorders such as premature or retarded ejaculation, and decreased libido were more frequent in men with ED, in comparison to men without this dysfunction. Less than 10% of men with ED xix reported that ever received treatment for this problem, and about 3% of subjects without ED complaints admitted the use of medications to improve erectile function. ED caused negative impact in several aspects of life: in the relationship with partner and friends, in work and leisure, besides mens self-esteem, causing also a negative self-evaluation of sexual life and performance. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of ED in this population below 40 years of age was high, mostly of mild severity. Low education and problems in sexual initiation correlated to ED occurrence and, probably due to the sample subjects young age, no association was found with health problems of organic causes. Measures in the fields of education and prevention would have a positive impact in the control of erectile dysfunction in the population

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2004-02-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:45:55Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ottati_alt_dr_botfca.pdf: 651467 bytes, checksum: a1b92614d7fbcfa2a73dbf3cf0eb427b (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / Empresa Privada / Os afídeos são um dos grupos de pragas amplamente distribuídos, causando perdas consideráveis em sistemas agrícolas e florestais. O pulgão-gigante-do-pinus, Cinara atlantica, é atualmente a espécie de pulgão mais disseminada nos plantios de Pinus no Brasil. Devido à sua importância econômica, esse trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito de diferentes temperaturas e da espécie hospedeira no desenvolvimento de ninfas e na longevidade e capacidade reprodutiva de adultos de C. atlantica, sob condições de laboratório, e determinar a flutuação populacional, a estrutura etária e a caracterização da estrutura espacial do afídeo em áreas florestadas com Pinus taeda e P. caribaea var. caribaea. A determinação do efeito de diferentes temperaturas (18o C, 22o C, 26o C e 30o C) e de hospedeiros (P. taeda e P. caribaea var. hondurensis) no desenvolvimento de C. atlantica foi conduzida sob fotofase de 12 h e umidade relativa do ar de 70 10%. Utilizaram-se 20 insetos (repetições) para cada combinação dos fatores temperatura e hospedeiro e obtiveram-se resultados para variáveis nos estágios ninfal e adulto e ciclo de vida. A determinação da flutuação populacional e da caracterização espacial (50 árvores/avaliação) e da estrutura etária (cinco colônias/avaliação) de C. atlantica foi realizada em áreas de 1 ha com P. taeda e P. caribaea var. caribaea nos municípios de Buri e Nova Campina/SP em 21 avaliações entre julho de 2001 e agosto de 2002. Concluiu-se que o desenvolvimento de ninfas e a longevidade e potencial reprodutivo dos adultos de C. atlantica não foram influenciados pelos hospedeiros P. taeda e P. caribaea var. hondurensis. Entretanto, as temperaturas constantes de 18o C e 22o C conferem as melhores condições, enquanto a de 30o C as piores condições de desenvolvimento aos insetos mantidos em P. taeda e P. caribaea var. hondurensis. C. atlantica... . / Aphids are one of the most widespread groups of pests, causing severe damages on agricultural and forestry systems. Nowadays, the giant conifer aphid, C. atlantica, is widely distributed on pine forests in Brazil. Due to its economic importance, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of different constant temperatures and host plants on the development of nymphs and adults and reproductive capacity in adult of C. atlantica in laboratory, monitoring the populational fluctuation, the age structure and to characterize spatial pattern of C. atlantica in Pinus taeda and P. caribaea var. caribaea plantations. The effect of constant temperatures (18o C, 22o C, 26o C e 30o C) and host plants (P. taeda and P. caribaea var. hondurensis) on the development of C. atlantica was carried out at 12 h of photophase (12 h) and 70 + 10% relative humidity. Twenty nymphs (replications) were tested for each treatment (temperature x host plant) to estimated biological variables of nymph and adult stages and life span. The study of the populational fluctuation, the spatial characterization (50 trees sampled per sampling date) and the age structure (5 aphid colonies per sampling date) of C. atlantica was carried out on P. taeda and P. caribaea var. caribaea plantations in 1 ha area in Buri and Nova Campina municipalities (SP, Brazil), between July 2001 and August 2002 (21 sampling dates). This research indicated that nymph and adult development and reproductive capacity of C. atlantica were not affected by host plants. However, temperatures of 18o C and 22o C provided better conditions for aphid development than 30o C when reared on P. taeda and P. caribaea var. hondurensis. In the field, C. atlantica had highest peaks of abundance in the winter and spring and lowest during the summer. The age structure study can give support to predict population peaks and the occurrence of stable populations indicates a low... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below).

INTRODUÇÃO: Raramente os estudos populacionais sobre disfunção erétil (DE) incluem homens com menos de 40 anos de idade e, quando o fazem, não há detalhamento dos vários fatores e conseqüências potencialmente associados a esta condição. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a prevalência da disfunção erétil e seus fatores associados em amostra da população brasileira de 18 a 40 anos. MÉTODOS: O Estudo da Vida Sexual do Brasileiro (EVSB) entrevistou 7.022 homens e mulheres em locais públicos de 18 grandes centros urbanos do Brasil por meio de um questionário auto-responsivo que abordava aspectos demográficos, de saúde, de hábitos e dificuldades sexuais, sendo a presença de disfunção erétil avaliada por questão única. De todo o grupo, 1.947 eram do sexo masculino e da faixa etária de 18 a 40 anos. RESULTADOS: Um total de 35% dos indivíduos do estudo tinha queixas de disfunção erétil (73,7% dos quais sendo DE mínima e 26,3% moderada/completa). O relato de DE foi mais freqüente na faixa etária mais jovem (18 a 25 anos), nos indivíduos da raça negra, parda ou amarela e no grupo que tinha menor escolaridade; na analise de regressão múltipla, porém, dentre esses fatores, somente o baixo grau de instrução permaneceu fortemente associado à presença de DE. Estado civil e situação empregatícia não influenciaram a prevalência de problemas de ereção. Não foi encontrada associação de maior freqüência de DE em homens com histórico de tabagismo, obesidade, diabetes, hipertensão, sedentarismo, cardiopatia, hiperlipidemia, depressão ou ansiedade. Orientação sexual não se relacionou com maior prevalência de DE, porém a falta de informações sobre sexo durante a vida, dificuldades no início da vida sexual e a ausência do hábito de masturbação correlacionaram-se com uma maior chance de queixas de DE. Para toda a população do estudo, as fontes recentes de informação sobre sexo foram principalmente os livros e revistas, seguidos pela conversa com a parceira e com amigos, sendo a orientação médica xvi menos citada pelo grupo. Outros problemas sexuais, como ejaculação precoce, retardada e diminuição de libido, foram mais freqüentes em homens com DE, em comparação aos homens sem esta disfunção. Menos de 10% dos homens com DE relataram já terem recebido tratamento para o problema e cerca de 3% de indivíduos sem queixas de DE declararam terem feito uso de medicações para melhora da ereção. A DE causou impacto negativo em várias áreas da vida dos portadores desta disfunção: no relacionamento com a parceira e amigos, no trabalho e lazer, além da auto-estima dos indivíduos com o problema, causando também auto-avaliação negativa quanto ao desempenho e a vida sexual. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de DE, mesmo na população abaixo de 40 anos, foi alta, com preponderância da forma leve. Baixa escolaridade e problemas na iniciação sexual associaram-se com a presença de DE e, provavelmente devido a pouca idade dos indivíduos da amostra, não foi encontrada associação de DE com problemas de saúde de causa orgânica. Ações nas áreas de educação e prevenção teriam um impacto positivo no controle de disfunção erétil na população / INTRODUCTION: Populational studies in erectile dysfunction (ED) rarely included subjects less than 40 years old and, when this was done, there were no information on the several factors and consequences potentially associated with this condition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) and associated factors in a sample of Brazilian men aged 18 to 40 years old. METHODS: The Brazilian Sexual Life Study interviewed 7,022 men and women in public places of 18 major Brazilian cities using a self-administered questionnaire that investigated social-demographic and health aspects, life habits and sexual difficulties, including ED, which was assessed by a single question. From the whole group, 1,947 were men between 18 and 40 years old. RESULTS: Complaints of ED were found in 35.0% of the study subjects (73.7% had mild ED; 26.3% moderate/complete ED). Greater frequency of ED report was seen in younger subjects (18 to 25 years), in men of black, mixed or Asian races, and in the group with less education; in the multiple regression analyses, among these factors, only low level of education remained strongly associated with ED diagnosis. Employment and marital status didnt affect the prevalence of erection problems. No association was seen between ED report and medical history of smoking, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, cardiopathy, hyperlipidemia, depression or anxiety. Sexual orientation was not correlated to greater ED frequency, but the lack of information about sex, difficulties in the beginning of sexual life and absence of masturbation habit were related to an increased chance of ED diagnosis. Recent sources of information about sex were mainly books and magazines, followed by talking to the partner and friends, being medical advice less mentioned by the whole study population. Other sexual disorders such as premature or retarded ejaculation, and decreased libido were more frequent in men with ED, in comparison to men without this dysfunction. Less than 10% of men with ED xix reported that ever received treatment for this problem, and about 3% of subjects without ED complaints admitted the use of medications to improve erectile function. ED caused negative impact in several aspects of life: in the relationship with partner and friends, in work and leisure, besides mens self-esteem, causing also a negative self-evaluation of sexual life and performance. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of ED in this population below 40 years of age was high, mostly of mild severity. Low education and problems in sexual initiation correlated to ED occurrence and, probably due to the sample subjects young age, no association was found with health problems of organic causes. Measures in the fields of education and prevention would have a positive impact in the control of erectile dysfunction in the population