The prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and depression in men with erectile dysfunction

We quantified the prevalence of diagnosed hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and depression in male health plan members with erectile dysfunction (ED).

We used a nationally representative managed care claims database that covered 51 health plans with 28 million lives for 1995 through 2002. Based on 272325 identified patients with ED population and age specific prevalence rates were calculated for the same period.

The crude population prevalence rates were 41.6% for hypertension, 42.4% for hyperlipidemia, 20.2% for diabetes mellitus, 11.1% for depression, 23.9% for hypertension and hyperlipidemia, 12.8% for hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and 11.5% for hyperlipidemia and depression. The crude age specific prevalence rates varied across age groups significantly for hypertension (4.5% to 68.4%), hyperlipidemia (3.9% to 52.3%), and diabetes mellitus (2.8% to 28.7%), and significantly less for depression (5.8% to 15.0%). Region adjusted population prevalence rates were 41.2% for hypertension, 41.8% for hyperlipidemia, 19.7% for diabetes mellitus and 11.9% for depression. Only 87163 patients with ED (32%) had no comorbid diagnosis of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus or depression.

Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and depression were prevalent in patients with ED. This evidence supported the proposition that ED shares common risk factors with these 4 concurrent conditions. Therefore, as a pathophysiological event, ED could be viewed as a potential observable marker for these concurrent diseases. This finding suggests that clinicians could include ED in the assessment profile of these concurrent conditions for earlier detection and treatment.