Low Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level as a Potential Risk Factor of Erectile Dysfunction in Elderly Men with Moderate...

To evaluate the correlation between vitamin D level and erectile dysfunction (ED) in male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) patients.

We analyzed data from 534 male patients who were tested for LUTS from 2014 to 2017. LUTS severity was classified into mild (≤7) or moderate to severe (≥8) based on total IPSS scores. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level of less than 20 ng/mL. The severity of ED was dichotomized into mild (≥17 points) or moderate to severe (≤16 points) depending on total IIEF-5 scores. The association of the serum 25(OH)D level with moderate to severe ED was assessed using logistic regression analysis.

In the entire cohort, moderate to severe ED was significantly associated with age ≥60 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.762; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.011-3.073) and moderate to severe LUTS (OR, 2.075; 95% CI, 1.134-3.789), but not with serum 25(OH)D level (OR, 1.001; 95% CI, 0.979-1.023). Whereas, in the subgroup consisting of moderate to severe LUTS patients over 60 years (n=223), either low serum 25(OH)D level (OR, 0.944; 95% CI, 0.903-0.986) or vitamin D deficiency (OR, 2.949; 95% CI, 1.118-7.782) was the independent risk factor of moderate to severe ED as a result of each multivariate analysis.

Low vitamin D status closely correlated with moderate to severe ED in elderly men with moderate to severe LUTS.