Urological Health Penis Health Peyronie’s Disease Peyronie’s Disease Guide Peyronie’s Disease Guide Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Causes and Risk Factors of Peyronie’s Disease By Elizabeth Boskey, PhD facebook twitter linkedin Elizabeth Boskey, PhD, MPH, CHES, is a social worker, adjunct lecturer, and expert writer in the field of sexually transmitted diseases. Learn about our editorial process Elizabeth Boskey, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD on August 28, 2020 facebook linkedin Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD, is board-certified in urology. He is an assistant professor at UCF College of Medicine and chief of surgery at Orlando Health South Lake Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD Updated on September 16, 2020 Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Common Causes Cardiovascular Health Lifestyle Risk Factors Next in Peyronie’s Disease Guide How Peyronie's Disease Is Diagnosed Peyronie's disease is the result of inflammation and scarring in the erectile tissues of the penis, which leads to and abnormal curvature of the penis. Scarring causes areas of the penis to become less flexible. During an erection, the penis curves towards the area that can't stretch. Depending on the location of the scarring, the penis may also lose length. Only a small fraction of cases of Peyronie's disease occur after there has been a clear, noticeable injury to the penis. The remaining cases are thought to be caused by small injuries and inflammation that has occurred over a long period of time. Because of this, the major risk factors for Peyronie's disease are injury, age, smoking, and health conditions associated with inflammation and scarring. Brianna Gilmartin / Verywell Common Causes Peyronie's disease is first and foremost a wound-healing disorder. Its symptoms are the result of fibrous plaques, or scars, forming in the tunica albuginea. The tunica albuginea is the tissue that surrounds the erectile bodies of the penis. Peyronie's disease is thought to occur in between 0.5%and 20%of men, depending on the population. It can happen in men of any age, but it is more common in older men. It is also more common in individuals suffering from one or more of the following health problems: Diabetes High blood pressure High cholesterol Peyronie's is thought to be the result of injury to the penis. This injury can be severe and acute, for example, because of surgery on the penis or trauma during sex. More often, the injuries that lead to Peyronie's are small, or even unnoticeable. Most, if not all, men experience some microtrauma during penetrative intercourse. However, only some men develop Peyronie's disease. This is likely because Peyronie's disease occurs in men where healing is impaired. It is important to note that erectile dysfunction isn't only a consequence of Peyronie's disease. It may also be a cause. Having sex with a penis that is not fully erect may predispose the penis to microtrauma. This may also explain why the incidence of Peyronie's disease increases with age. As people have more difficulty getting a firm erection, they experience more sub-acute injuries they need to heal. Cardiovascular Health High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes are all associated with both cardiovascular health and Peyronie's disease. So is the use of certain cardiovascular drugs, such as beta-blockers. This is thought to be because the particular vasculature of the penis, and damage to those blood vessels, is critical to the formation of plaques and scars. There is also some evidence that oxidative stress plays a role in Peyronie's disease as well as heart disease. In addition to potentially playing a direct role in causing Peyronie's disease, cardiovascular disease also contributes significantly to one of its symptoms. At least one research study has demonstrated that clogged or damaged blood flow in the penis is the primary cause of erectile dysfunction in men with Peyronie's. In other words, it's not the scarring that causes problems with getting and sustaining an erection; it is blood flow. This is another reason why Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs may be useful for Peyronie's patients. Lifestyle Risk Factors There are a number of lifestyle risk factors for Peyronie's disease. Basically, these can be divided into two groups. The first group are risk factors that affect healing. These include: Smoking Alcohol abuse A history of unprotected sex leading to non-gonoccocal urethritis or exposure to another inflammatory STD The other group of risk factors are those that affect the likelihood of penile trauma. These include: Rough sex or sex at angles that bend or stretch the penis. Starting penetration before the penis is fully erect Other activities that could damage the penis. Erectile Dysfunction A Word From Verywell To a great extent, Peyronie's disease is not a condition you can avoid. You can maintain a healthy body, but inflammation and penile injury are not necessarily things you can control. Fortunately, Peyronie's disease is often a relatively minor condition. Many individuals affected by it do not need any treatment. There is a range of treatments available for those who do. If you are experiencing pain during erection, or noticing a new curve to your penis, talk to your doctor. If it is Peyronie's disease, sometimes early treatment can help. How Peyronie's Disease Is Diagnosed Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Al-thakafi S, Al-hathal N. Peyronie's disease: a literature review on epidemiology, genetics, pathophysiology, diagnosis and work-up. Transl Androl Urol. 2016;5(3):280-9. doi:10.21037/tau.2016.04.05 Additional Reading Al-Thakafi S, Al-Hathal N. Peyronie's disease: a literature review on epidemiology, genetics, pathophysiology, diagnosis and work-up. Transl Androl Urol. 2016 Jun;5(3):280-9. DOI: 10.21037/tau.2016.04.05. Culha M, Alici B, Acar O, Mutlu N, Gökalp A. The relationship between diabetes mellitus, impotence and veno-occlusive dysfunction in Peyronie's disease patients. Urol Int. 1998;60(2):101-4. Dolmans GH, Werker PM, de Jong IJ, Nijman RJ; LifeLines Cohort Study, Wijmenga C, Ophoff RA. WNT2 locus is involved in genetic susceptibility of Peyronie's disease. J Sex Med. 2012 May;9(5):1430-4. DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02704.x. Ferrini MG, Rivera S, Moon J, Vernet D, Rajfer J, Gonzalez-Cadavid NF. The genetic inactivation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) intensifies fibrosis and oxidative stress in the penile corpora cavernosa in type 1 diabetes. J Sex Med. 2010 Sep;7(9):3033-44. DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01884.x. Gonzalez-Cadavid NF, Magee TR, Ferrini M, Qian A, Vernet D, Rajfer J. Gene expression in Peyronie's disease. Int J Impot Res. 2002 Oct;14(5):361-74.