Abstract
Few studies have investigated the relationship between chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and erectile dysfunction (ED). This case-control study aimed to investigate the association between CRS and the risk of ED in a large national sample. Tapping Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified people 30 years or older with a new primary diagnosis of CRS between 1996 and 2007. The cases were compared with sex- and age-matched controls. We identified 14 039 cases and recruited 140 387 matched controls. Both groups were followed up in the same database until the end of 2007 for instances of ED. Of those with CRS, 294 (2.1%) developed ED during a mean (SD) follow-up of 3.20 (2.33) years, while 1 661 (1.2%) of the matched controls developed ED, mean follow up 2.97 (2.39) years. Cox regression analyses were performed adjusting for sex, age, insurance premium, residence, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, allergic rhinitis, arrhythmia, ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and medications. CRS was revealed to be an independent predictor of ED in the fully adjusted model (HR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.33–1.73; P < 0.0001).
Highlights
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory disease of the upper airway that can impact quality of life
chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and 140 387 sex, age-matched controls, both identified from the NHIRD 1996–2007
More patients with CRS were diagnosed with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease (CKD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, allergic rhinitis, arrhythmia, ischemic stroke, and intracerebral hemorrhage (P < 0.0001) (Table 1)
Summary
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory disease of the upper airway that can impact quality of life. It affects more than 30 million people in the United States, where the annual prevalence of CRS is reported to range from 13% to 16%1. Previous studies have suggested that upper airway diseases such as allergic rhinitis (AR) and lower airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be associated with an increased risk for erectile dysfunction (ED)[2,3,4,5]. Erectile dysfunction (ED), defined by the National Institutes of Health as “the inability to attain and maintain an erection of sufficient quality to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse,” affects ~5% of the male population in the United States[8,9].
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