Review Article 1 Department of Psychiatry, JSS Medical College and Hospital, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, Karnataka, India 2 Psychiatrist, Flynn Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, La Trobe Regional Hospital Mental Health Services (LRH-MHS) Traralgon,Victoria, Australia 3 Consultant Psychiatrist, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India Corresponding author: Shivanand Manohar J., Department of Psychiatry, JSS Medical College and Hospital, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, Karnataka, India. Email: drshivman@gmail.com Sexual Disorders in Asians Shivanand Manohar J. 1 , Hrishikesh Solunke 1 , K. Suhruth Reddy 1 , Rajesh Raman 1 , Gurvinder Kalra 2 , and Abhinav Tandon 3 Abstract The inseparable relationship between mind and body, though known since ages, has been acknowledged in modern medicine only in recent times. There is abundant literature about the effects of various illnesses on different organ systems, but their effect on sexuality has not been emphasized. Research on sexuality has been fore fronted by the West and data, though available, cannot be extrapolated to the Asian population due to marked differences in physical and socio-cultural aspects. The authors have reviewed articles published in Clinical Key, PubMed and Scopus. Keywords Sexuality, sexual dysfunction, Asians Journal of Psychosexual Health 1(3–4) 222–226, 2019 © 2019 Karnataka Sexual Sciences Academy Reprints and permissions: in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india DOI: 10.1177/2631831819862890 journals.sagepub.com/home/ssh Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://www. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). Introduction Sex plays an important role in human life across different cultures. Culture creates and impacts beliefs and myths about sexuality, masculinity, and sexual prowess and behavior. Different cultures view sexuality with different perspectives. Western cultures consider the act of sex as recreational (sex positive societies), while Asians are more likely to view it as procreational (sex negative societies). 1 Contrasting views in different cultural settings have impacted the quality and quantity of research on sexuality in different cultures. Until recently, sexual health has taken a back seat in the planning and implementation of health care. There is more research on human sexuality in East-Asian countries when compared to South Asia. The ample research about sexuality in the West cannot be extrapolated to the Asian context due to differences in sociocultural domains. The rates of sexual dysfunction vary in different populations. Studies have shown that the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) is more in Asians when compared to Europeans. A community-based survey found the age-adjusted prevalence of ED to be 34% in Japan and 22% in Malaysia. Some studies have shown increased prevalence of sexual dysfunction across both genders. Studies on sexual dysfunction in women have had challenges of sociocultural differences in various constructs, such as gender roles, gender expression, normal sexual functioning, and sexual distress. 1 Etiology Culture Knowledge about the impact of culture on sexual functioning is important for clinicians not only for diagnosis but also for management. Culture shapes the norms of behavior and