KUALA LUMPUR: A surprisingly high number of Malaysians are not sexually satisfied, a survey by pharmaceutical company Pfizer has revealed.

Two out of three Malaysian men and three out of four women are not satisfied with their sex lives, the Asia-Pacific Sexual Health and Overall Wellness survey stated. Malaysians are ranked sixth among 13 countries but, if it's any consolation, Singaporeans fared worse. They are in eighth spot.

India topped the list with 70% of the respondents saying they were satisfied with their sex lives while Japan reported the lowest sexual satisfaction rate at 10%. "The Malaysian figure is higher than the overall Asia Pacific results where 57% of men and 64% of women reported being not very satisfied with sex," said Dr Rosie King, who led the study in the Asia Pacific region from May to July 2008.

"The survey links the level of erection hardness to sexual satisfaction for men," said Dr King during a roundtable discussion at a hotel here yesterday.

The level of erection hardness is measured in a scale of one to four using the Erection Hardness Score (EHS) developed by the European Association of Urology.

"Level one is like tofu where the male organ is large but not hard, level two is similar to a peeled banana where it's not hard enough for penetration, level three is like an unpeeled banana where it's hard enough for penetration but not completely, and level four is similar to a cucumber where it's completely hard and fully rigid," explained Dr King.

The men were required to evaluate themselves using the EHS during the survey and 40% of Malaysian men reported that they experienced erection below grade four.

Compared to their EHS grade four counterparts, these men have sex less often, are less sexually satisfied, and may suffer from lack of self confidence, or worse, depression.

"We found that greater sexual satisfaction is strongly associated with greater satisfaction with life overall. Generally, men and women who are highly satisfied with their sex life have a more positive outlook on their relationships and life.

In Malaysia, 102 men and 100 women were selected nationwide based on age, marital status, education level, and income to participate in the survey.

The Star/Asia News Network