Abstract

While not lethal, erectile dysfunction (ED) can negatively affect the quality of life of patients. The objective of this study was to investigate cardiovascular risk factors (CRF) associated with ED, taking into account their sociodemographic characteristics. Possible correlations between the degree of ED and CRF were investigated. Fifty-six patients with ED, with ages ranging from 38 to 79 years (mean of 57.4 ± 8.4 years), with or without CRF were prospectively studied. ED was classified as mild, moderate or severe using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Demographic (age, marital status, number of children, education level and place of residence) and clinical data relating to CRF [high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, alcoholism, weight and smoking] were obtained by applying a questionnaire. Frequency tables were used to assess the association of the degree of ED with sociodemographic and clinical variables. Most patients were married (82.1%) had children (85.7%) and incomplete primary education (73.3%). Moreover, most participants had severe ED (75%), followed by moderate (17.9%) and mild (7.1%). Hypertension was the most common CRF (53.6%) followed by diabetes, obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking. No significant association was found when the mean age and body mass index were evaluated in respect to the degree of ED. Moreover, no significant correlation was found for the degree of ED in relation to hypertension, diabetes, smoking and alcohol consumption. Most hypertensive patients and nearly half of the smokers and ex-smokers had grade 3 ED. Grade 3 ED in this study may be related to the high frequency of concomitant CRF associated to ED however there was no significant association between ED in general and CRF.

Highlights

  • Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to achieve and sufficiently maintain penile erection for satisfactory sexual intercourse (National Institutes of Health, 1993)

  • The risk factors most commonly associated with ED are high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, prostate diseases, depression, age and socioeconomic factors (Morillo et al, 2002; Nicolosi et al, 2003; Spessoto et al, 2010; Almogbel, 2014; Pinheiro et al, 2015)

  • All patients complaining of ED were included after they completed a questionnaire on erectile function, the International Index of Erectile Function 5 (IIEF-5), which consists of five questions covering areas of male sexual function corresponding to the erection, orgasm and to sexual desire (Rosen et al, 1999)

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Summary

Introduction

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to achieve and sufficiently maintain penile erection for satisfactory sexual intercourse (National Institutes of Health, 1993). This dysfunction affects approximately 150 million men worldwide, but there is a projection that more than 300 million patients will be affected by 2025 (Hatzimouratidis et al, 2010). It has been demonstrated that ED precedes the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD) symptoms by approximately three years (Thompson et al, 2005); there is a 23% higher risk of death due to CVD in patients with ED (Hotaling et al, 2012)

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