MedWire News: Poor glycemic control, presence of the metabolic syndrome, and dyslipidemia all increase the risk for erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with Type 2 diabetes, report researchers.
However, they add that increased physical activity appears to be protective against ED in these individuals.
Previous research has shown that men with diabetes have a significantly increased risk for ED, as reported by MedWire News.
In this study, Katherine Esposito (Second University of Naples, Italy) and colleagues investigated the prevalence and factors associated with ED in a group of 555 men with Type 2 diabetes, aged 35–70 years, who were recruited consecutively on attendance of a diabetes outpatient clinic.
All the men had a body mass index of 24 kg/m2 or higher and a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level of 6.5% or higher. ED was assessed using the international index of erectile function (IIEF-5) instrument.
Of the men in the cohort, 9% had mild, 11.2% had mild-to-moderate, 16.9% had moderate, and 22.9% had severe ED. The team observed that ED became more severe with increasing age.
Esposito and co-authors found that high HbA1c, presence of the metabolic syndrome, hypertension, dyslipidemia (high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and depression were all significantly associated with ED.
Interestingly, physical activity appeared to be protective against ED in these men, as those who were most physically active were 10% less likely to have ED compared with the men who were least physically active.
“These results agree with, and encourage for implementation of current medical guidelines that put intensive lifestyle changes as the first step of the management of Type 2 diabetes,” conclude the investigators in the International Journal of Impotence Research.
MedWire (www.medwire-news.md) is an independent clinical news service provided by Current Medicine Group, a trading division of Springer Healthcare Limited. © Springer Healthcare Ltd; 2010
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