Severity of erectile dysfunction in married impotent patients: interrelationship with anthropometry, hormones,...

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED) or cardiovascular disease on the disease severity in impotent men.

A total of 87 men, 25-75 years old (mean age, 53.4) were included in the study. Patients were evaluated with anthropometry, hormones, metabolic profiles and lifestyle. Baseline erectile function (EF) was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). The severity of ED was classified into the following four grades based on the six-item EF domain of the IIEF: severe (6-10); moderate (11-16); mild to moderate (17-21); and mild (22-25). Patients were deemed to have metabolic syndrome (MS) if they had three or more of five criteria according to National Cholesterol Education Program, with some modification.

Of 87 patients, 15 patients (17.2%) had mild, 11 (12.6%) had mild to moderate, 33 (37.9%) had moderate and 28 (32.3%) had severe ED. There was no correlation between scores of IIEF or EF domain and continuous parameters. On the multivariate model used, hypertensive patients had 26-fold higher risk (odds ratio, 26.195; 95% confidence interval, 1.463-46.072; P = 0.027) of severe ED than those without hypertension. Other factors were not significant.

The results of the study indicate that MS might not influence the severity of ED in impotent men. However, our findings suggest that hypertension plays a role in the disease severity in these patients.