Vascular risk factors as predictors of sexual function following coronary artery bypass graft

A strong association between cardiovascular risk factors and erectile dysfunction (ED) was suggested. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the gold standard for surgical myocardial revascularization.

We herein evaluate the impact of vascular risk factors on postoperative sexual functions in patients undergo CABG.

ED severity by the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) and penile duplex study.

The present study included 100 patients who underwent CABG. The patients were evaluated by an abridged form of the IIEF-5 questionnaire, followed by CABG. Six months after surgery the erectile function of all patients was re-evaluated utilizing the IIEF-5.

Number of risk factors was significantly associated with postoperative change in IIEF-5 score (P = 0.02). A post hoc analysis of the association revealed that patients with one risk factor were significantly more likely to have increased IIEF-5 scores (N = 18), whereas those with two or more risk factors were significantly more likely to have decreased IIEF-5 scores (N = 21, P < 0.05). Furthermore, those with no risk factors were significantly more likely to be stable (N = 8) compared with those with more than two risk factors, who were more likely to have decreased scores (P < 0.05). The hierarchical logistic regression results showed that when examining all risk factors simultaneously, because of multicollinearity, only hyperlipidemia was significantly associated with postoperative ED (odds ratio [OR] = 11.33, confidence interval [CI] = 1.25, 102.82). Frequency of intercourse was also significantly associated with postoperative ED after controlling for risk factors (OR = 0.71, CI = 0.52, 0.97).

This data clearly shows that the number of cardiovascular risk factors is an essential predictive factor for sexual function following surgery. Only hyperlipidemia may play a predictive role for the future sexual function of patients undergo CABG.