Sleep disturbances tied to sexual dysfunction for men undergoing fertility testing

Key takeaways:

• Men with mild to severe vs. normal sleep disturbances were more likely to have lower libido.
• Mild to severe disturbances were also tied to ejaculatory, orgasmic and erectile dysfunction.

DENVER — Mild to severe sleep disturbances were tied to lower libido, and ejaculatory, orgasmic and erectile dysfunction for men undergoing fertility testing, according to a presentation at the ASRM Scientific Congress & Expo.

“Previous literature has shown a link between poor sleep quality and a variety of sexual dysfunction factors in both men and women,” Amanda K. Seyer, MD, a urology resident with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said during the presentation. “Studies have shown around a two times increased risk of being diagnosed with erectile dysfunction for men diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, as opposed to men without. With this in mind, we set out to investigate the relationships between sleep disturbance and sexual function.”

Seyer and colleagues evaluated data from 1,919 men aged 18 to 50 years (mean age, 34 years) undergoing fertility testing who completed a mail-in semen analysis kit by Fellow Health. All participants also completed survey questionnaires assessing quality of life and sexual function. Using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), researchers obtained sleep disturbance level, defined as normal, mild, moderate or severe, from each participant.

Overall, 7.7% of men had mild and 4.4% had moderate to severe sleep disturbance. Men with mild to severe levels of sleep disturbance were more likely to report lower libido (20.7% vs. 13.8%; P = .01), ejaculatory dysfunction (31.3% vs. 19.9%; P < .01) and orgasmic dysfunction (15.3% vs. 5.1%; P < .01) vs. those with normal sleep disturbance levels.

More men with mild to severe levels of sleep disturbances reported pursuing erectile dysfunction treatments compared with men with normal sleep disturbance levels (28.3% vs. 17.8%; P < .01). However, compared with 71% of men with normal sleep disturbance, 57.2% of men with mild to severe disturbances were assessed with “no signs of erectile dysfunction” (P < .01).

“We believe that providers ideally would assess for sleep-related symptoms during their initial evaluation to optimize fertility potential, but also to optimize quality of life and sexual function,” Seyer said.