Endocrine Abstracts

Background

Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is a common complication of diabetes, but also one of the most underdiagnosed. ED is considered a vascular impairment that shares many risk factors with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and could be an early marker of systemic endothelial dysfunction. The aim of our study is to assess the prevalence and risk factors for ED by using the International Index of Erectile Function- 5 (IIEF-5) in type 1 diabetic men undergoing a health investigation.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional, prospective study including 50 type 1 diabetic men. All men underwent a detailed health examination including physical assessment, evaluation of various life-style factors, medical history and a blood analysis. IIEF-5’s Arabic version was used to assess the prevalence and the degree of ED. A hormonal assessment was performed including testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4) and Prolactin. Borderline hypogonadism was defined as the presence of total testosterone level < 3 ng/ml.

Results

The mean age the study group was 37.88 ± 9.31 years. According to the IIEF-5 score, 67% reported on any degree of ED, 25.7% had mild ED (IIEF-5 score 17–21), 18.9% mild to moderate ED (IIEF-5 score 12–16), 12.4% moderate ED (IIEF-5 score 8–11) and 10% severe ED (IIEF-5 score 5–7). The mean duration of diabetes in this group was 12.2 ± 7.9 years. The prevalence of comorbid conditions increased with ED severity (P < 0.05). Risk factors for ED were microvascular complications of diabetes (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.99–1.6), and hyperlipidemia (OR: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.55–3.5). Borderline hypogonadism was found in 10.5% of men with ED with mean testosterone level 2.2 ± 0.2 ng/ml. The prevalence of hypogonadism was higher in diabetics with diabetic nephropathy (32%) and diabetic retinopathy (28%).

Conclusions

ED is frequent in diabetic men; its frequency is correlated with the presence of microvascular complications and hyperlipidemia.