Erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy: Effect of quality of life and psychology

Abstract

ObjectiveRadical prostatectomy may have a significant impact on quality of life (QoL) because of erectile dysfunction, depression and incontinence. In this study, the mood and QoL of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy due to localized prostate Ca and were non-relapsed at least 12 months after operation were evaluated. Materials and methodsWe evaluated 35 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy operation between 2000 and 2011 and showed no reduction during 12 months observation. IIEF, Beck Depression test, and EORTC 3.0 quality of life were given and scored. In this study, the effects of erectile dysfunction according to Beck depression test and QoL scores and correlation between the mood and QoL are evaluated. ResultsIn our study, ED groups categorized as mild, moderate and severe had no correlation with Beck depression scores (p=0.874). But only the patients with severe and moderate erectile dysfunction had moderate and severe depression scores. Negative correlation was determined (p=0.013) when Beck Depression scores with IIEF scores without categorizing ED groups. Correspondingly, negative correlation was determined (p=0.048) between QoL and IIEF scores, whereas positive correlation was determined (r=0.756 and p<0.001) between QoL and Beck Depression scores. ConclusionsWe observed that an increase of erectile dysfunction elevated depression symptoms and resulted in bad quality of life. During tumor control, it is important to use methods that do not affect QoL.