Epidemiology of erectile dysfunction in hemodialysis patients using IIEF questionnaire

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to attain or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients on hemodialysis (HD) in Shiraz, Iran, using the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction questionnaire for determination of the frequency and severity of ED in these patients. We used the Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson's correlation coefficient tests for statis-tical analysis. A total of 73 patients were enrolled into this study. The mean score of ED was 10.3 ± 6.3 (total score 25). The prevalence of ED of various degrees was 87.7%. There was a significant correlation between different degrees of ED and age (P = 0.002); it was significantly higher in patients older than 50 years (P = 0.005). Also, ED was more common in patients whose Kt/V was <1.2 (P = 0.04). Our study suggests that ED is a major health concern in patients on HD. Improvement of ED may improve their quality of life. Our results can give the basic data for future research in this field.