Asthma May Increase Risk of Erectile Dysfunction
FRIDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) — Asthma may be an independent risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED), with the risk increasing with asthma severity, according to a study published online March 22 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Kun-Ta Chou, M.D., from National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan, and colleagues examined the relationship between asthma and the development of ED in a nationwide, population-based database. A total of 3,466 males aged 18 to 55 years with newly diagnosed asthma cases were identified from 2000 to 2007. This cohort was compared to 13,836 age- and comorbidity-matched controls without asthma. The occurrence of ED was recorded during a mean follow-up period of 4.56 years.
The investigators found that 114 patients experienced ED, including 34 asthma patients (0.98 percent) and 80 controls (0.58 percent). Men with asthma had a 1.9 times increase in incident ED, independent of age, comorbidities, and the number of visits to a urologist. The risk of ED increased with the number of clinical visits for asthma (hazard ratio [HR], 4.154 for > 24 visits per year compared to < 12 visits per year; and HR, 3.543 for 12 to 24 visits per year compared to < 12 visits per year).
"Asthma may be a significant risk factor for ED, and the risk probably increased in accordance with asthma severity. Whether intensive treatment for asthma can slow the development or progression of ED warrants further investigation," the authors write.
