Psychological impact
ED often has an impact on the emotional well-being of both men and their partners. Many men do not seek treatment due to feelings of embarrassment. About 75% of diagnosed cases of ED go untreated. Causes
Causes of or contributors to ED include the following:

Diets high in saturated fat are linked to heart diseases, and men with heart diseases are more likely to experience ED. By contrast, plant-based diets show a lower risk for ED. Prescription drugs (e.g., SSRIs, beta blockers, antihistamines, alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonists, thiazides, hormone modulators, and 5α-reductase inhibitors)
Neurogenic disorders (e.g., diabetic neuropathy, temporal lobe epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, multiple system atrophy)
Cavernosal disorders (e.g., Peyronies disease)
Hyperprolactinemia (e.g., due to a prolactinoma)
Psychological causes: performance anxiety, stress, and mental disorders
Surgery (e.g., radical prostatectomy)
Ageing: after age 40 years, ageing itself is a risk factor for ED, although numerous other pathologies that may occur  with ageing, such as testosterone deficiency, cardiovascular diseases, or diabetes, among others, appear to have interacting effects
Kidney disease: ED and chronic kidney disease have pathological mechanisms in common, including vascular and hormonal dysfunction, and may share other comorbidities, such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus that can contribute to ED
Lifestyle habits, particularly smoking, which is a key risk factor for ED as it promotes arterial narrowing. Due to its propensity for causing detumescence and erectile dysfunction, some studies have described tobacco as an anaphrodisiacal substance.
A 2021 review indicated that ginseng had "only trivial effects on erectile function or satisfaction with intercourse compared to placebo". History
Attempts to treat ED date back well over 1,000 years. In the 8th century, men of Ancient Rome and Greece wore talismans of rooster and goat genitalia, believing these talismans would serve as an aphrodisiac and promote sexual function. In the 13th century Albertus Magnus recommended ingesting roasted wolf penis as a remedy for impotence.During the late 16th and 17th centuries in France, male impotence was considered a crime, as well as legal grounds for a divorce. The practice, which involved inspection of the complainants by court experts, was declared obscene in 1677.The first successful vacuum erection device, or penis pump, was developed by Vincent Marie Mondat in the early 1800s. A more advanced device, based on a bicycle pump, was developed by Geddings Osbon, a Pentecostal preacher, in the 1970s. In 1982, he received FDA approval to market the product as the ErecAid®.John R. Brinkley initiated a boom in male impotence cures in the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s. His radio programs recommended expensive goat gland implants and "mercurochrome" injections as the path to restored male virility, including operations by surgeon Serge Voronoff. Modern drug therapy for ED made a significant advance in 1983, when British physiologist Giles Brindley dropped his trousers and demonstrated to a shocked Urodynamics Society audience his papaverine-induced erection.