Rome, 14 May (AKI) - An Italian university study has found up to a quarter of young Italians suffer from the embarassment of premature ejaculation due to stress and job anxiety.

The study by the University of Florence showed between 20 and 25 percent of young people suffer from the embarrassing problem.

"[Premature ejaculation] is due to anxiety and stress linked to an unstable existence, problems in finding a secure job, and other problems of our times," said Marco Carini, director of a urology clinic at the University of Florence.

He was speaking at a conference organised by the Italian Society of Urology in Rome on Wednesday.

According to Carini, sexual dysfunction was once caused by anxiety linked to performance and penis size in comparison with other men of the same age.

"Today, the situation has changed and young people are under more severe pressure for reasons that are outside their sphere of intimacy," said Carini.

"Financial insecurity, the feeling of not having a solid foundation on which to build a future, is not an element that should be ruled out [in the context of the problem]," he added.

Carini also said a drug to cure the problem of premature ejaculation was expected to be approved in Italy before the end of 2009.