This is a common problem in diabetes. Diabetic nerve damage and blood vessel disease are usually the culprits, although blood-pressure-lowering medication, stress, and depression can also play a role. Erectile dysfunction is the inability to develop and maintain an erection for satisfactory sexual intercourse or activity in the absence of an ejaculatory disorder such as premature ejaculation). Erectile dysfunction is the preferred term rather than the more commonly used term of impotence.