Aim: There is increasing evidence of a strong link between erectile dysfunction and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) score and albuminuria as well as markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in men with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: We evaluated the relationship of the IIEF-5 score with the degree of urinary albumin excretion, pulse wave velocity, ankle-brachial index or toe-brachial index (n = 125) as well as with major cardiovascular risk factors, including age, blood pressure, serum lipid concentration and hemoglobin A1c, body mass index, severity of diabetic retinopathy or nephropathy, and presence of neuropathy or cardiovascular disease in 197 men with type 2 diabetes.
Results: The mean IIEF-5 score was 10.0 ± 6.9. The IIEF-5 score was inversely correlated with age or duration of diabetes, and positively correlated with diastolic blood pressure or serum total cholesterol concentration. The IIEF-5 score inversely correlated with log (urinary albumin excretion; r =-0.190, p =0.0078) or pulse wave velocity (r =-0.255, p =0.0003), and positively correlated with the toe-brachial index (r = 0.379, p < 0.0001). The IIEF-5 score was lower in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy than in patients with no diabetic retinopathy, and in patients with macroalbuminuria than in patients with normoalbuminuria. The IIEF-5 score was also lower in patients with neuropathy or cardiovascular disease than without.
Conclusions: The IIEF-5 score correlated with diabetic micro- and macroangiopathy in men with type 2 diabetes.