(397) Investigating the Psychological Bother and Depression Among Gay Men with Peyronie's Disease

Abstract

Abstract Introduction I: Peyronie's disease (PD) is associated with psychological bother, including depression and relationship dissatisfaction. Objective Our objective is to describe the prevalence of psychosocial issues using validated instruments, comparing gay and non-gay males. Methods We included patients diagnosed with PD who completed two validated questionnaires. The questionnaires were the Peyronie's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The PDQ has 3 domains that evaluate psychological and physical symptoms, penile pain, and bother signs. Higher PDQ scores indicate a greater negative impact, and a score ≥ 9 on the bother domain indicates significant distress. A CES-D score ≥ 16/60 suggests clinical depression. All gay and non-gay patients were matched, and potential indicators of psychological distress were examined in both populations. Our multivariable analysis (MVA) models included age, sexual orientation, pain, and curvature. Additionally, we collected demographic information and PD-related characteristics. Results 74 individuals were matched based on age, curvature direction, and curvature degree: 37 gay and 37 non-gay. The median age was 57 (50, 62) years. Gay population characteristics: 60% were partnered; 54% had ≥ 2 comorbidities; median PD duration of 9 (4, 17) months; median curvature of 35 (29, 49) degrees; 66% had penile instability; 57% in a dorsal direction curvature, and 73% were located at the mid-shaft; 18% had multiplanar curvature. The PDQ scores in the gay vs. non-gay population: median score on psychological and physical domain of 10 (7, 18) vs. 11 (5, 16); median score on pain domain was 3 (0, 9) vs. 3 (0, 6), with 43% of the gay population with pain vs. 21% in non-gay; median score on bother domain was 8 (4, 10) vs. 8 (6, 11), with 65% of gay patients with significant bother (score ≥ 9) compared to 51% in non-gay. Regarding the CES-D scores, 38% of individuals in both populations demonstrated meaningful depression (score ≥ 16), with a median score of 12 (4, 19) in the gay population and a median of 12 (5, 23) in non-gay. In the MVA, sexual orientation was not a predictor for bother or depression (Table 1). Conclusions More than half of both groups had meaningful bother, and 1 in 3 had clinical depression; however, sexual orientation was not a predictor of bother or depression. Disclosure No.