The relationship between lipid profile and erectile dysfunction

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the relation between serum lipids (cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglyceride (TG)) and erectile dysfunction (ED). The experimental methods involved comparison of 100 patients with organic ED (mean age of 43.59+/-10.51 y), with 100 healthy individuals (mean age of 43.72+/-9.76 y) regarding their lipid profile from January 2000 to June 2003 (cholesterol, TG, HDL, LDL). The results showed that there was a significant difference between mean plasma cholesterol and LDL levels in the individuals suffering from ED and the control group (P=0.04 and 0.02, respectively). The TG and HDL mean plasma level differences were not significant (P=0.583 and 0.299, respectively). Odds ratios for high plasma cholesterol level (>240 mg/dl) and high plasma LDL level (>160 mg/dl) were 1.74 and 1.97. The R2 was 0.04 for both cholesterol and LDL. Applying linear regression, the coefficient for cholesterol and LDL reduced the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire scores by -0.036 and -0.035. In conclusion, this study, the correlation of cholesterol and LDL levels with ED strongly supports the role of hyperlipidemia treatment in both the prevention and management of ED.