This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Erectile dysfunction more likely in men with type 2 diabetes
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Erectile dysfunction is significantly more prevalent in men with type 2 diabetes than in healthy men in the same age group, according to recent findings.
Additionally, diabetic polyneuropathy was found to be the only risk factor correlated with increased likelihood and severe cases of erectile dysfunction (ED).
In a cross-sectional, single-center study, researchers evaluated 116 men seen in 2012 and 2013 at a tertiary care hospital in Bursa, Turkey. The study population comprised 68 men with type 2 diabetes (mean age, 56.7 years) and 48 healthy controls (mean age, 57 years). The researchers recorded BMI and blood biochemistry data for each participant, including prostate-specific antigen, free PSA and total testosterone. Also assessed and recorded for each man were coexisting hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT), prostate volume via ultrasonography and ED. ED was determined based on responses to the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire, with a lower score indicating worse sexual function. Medical history, physical examinations and laboratory tests were used to determine the presence of polyneuropathy, nephropathy and retinopathy.
The researchers found similar rates of hyperlipidemia in the diabetic (51.5%) and control groups (39.6%) as well as comparable rates of CAD (33.8% in the diabetic group and 22.9% in the control group). However, there was a significantly higher rate of hypertension (P=.05) in the patients with diabetes vs. control patients and significantly higher CIMT values (P=.02) in patients with diabetes vs. control patients. Among the patients with diabetes, 46.2% were determined to have polyneuropathy, 30.8% had nephropathy and 33.8% had retinopathy. The patients with diabetes had significantly lower ED scores than the controls (14.3% vs. 18.3%; P=.014). Diabetic polyneuropathy was determined by univariate analysis to be the only risk factor linked to increased likelihood of ED (93.3% when neuropathy was present vs. 60% when neuropathy was absent) as well as severity of ED (43.3% when neuropathy was present vs. 14.3% when neuropathy was absent, P=.004).
According to the researchers, further studies are needed to better understand the interrelated pathogenic factors related to endothelial dysfunction-related ED in type 2 diabetes. They also wrote that these findings suggest the need for ED screening in patients with diabetes.
“Given that ED was noted in three out of every four diabetic patients in the present study, systematic screening for ED in diabetic patients is strongly suggested so that the onset of ED is not missed,” the researchers wrote. “ED marks the decisive aggravation stage of diabetes and of its complications and offers a powerful motivator for patients to change their lifestyle and improve medication compliance.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts