Erectile dysfunction as a predictor of advanced vascular age

D Djordjevic; I Vukovic; D Milenkovic Petronic; G Radovanovic; J Seferovic; S Micic; D Kisic Tepavcevic

doi:10.1111/andr.12105

Erectile dysfunction as a predictor of advanced vascular age

Andrology. 2015 Nov;3(6):1125-31. doi: 10.1111/andr.12105. Epub 2015 Oct 7.

Authors

D Djordjevic¹, I Vukovic¹, D Milenkovic Petronic¹, G Radovanovic², J Seferovic³, S Micic¹, D Kisic Tepavcevic⁴

Affiliations

¹ Clinic of Urology, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
² Clinic of Cardiology, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
³ Clinic of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
⁴ Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

PMID: 26446405
DOI: 10.1111/andr.12105

Abstract

Vascular age (VA) represents chronological age (CA) adjusted for individual's atherosclerotic burden. The presence of erectile dysfunction (ED) has been considered as a clinical sentinel of premature atherosclerosis. The objective of this study was to explore the predictive value of ED in assessing the discrepancy between VA and CA. In the period from 1 January 2014 to 1 January 2015, all consecutive men referring to the outpatient departments of the Clinics of Urology and Cardiology in Belgrade (Serbia) were considered for enrolment in this cross-sectional study. General exclusion criteria were: age below 18, heart failure, history of myocardial infarction, impaired renal and liver function, acute infection, history of endocrine disease other than type 2 diabetes, pelvic surgery or trauma, and acute coronary syndrome within the last 6 months. According to the presence of ED, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and history of coronary artery disease participants were assigned into five study groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictive value of ED in detection of advanced VA. The mean age of males enrolled in the study was 52.9 ± 7.7 years. The predominance of VA over CA was statistically significantly higher in the group of participants with coexistence of ED and hypertension compared to the group of patients with ED and type 2 diabetes (p = 0.027) and the group of patients with ED (p = 0.014) and control group (p < 0.01). Regression analysis highlighted that ED represented a highly important marker (p < 0.01) of advanced VA, which independently accounted for 6.1% of the variance in the discrepancy between VA and CA. Our study suggests that assessment of ED could be a part of a more comprehensive prediction of patients' advanced VA. Screening among such a highly selected population may help identify those that would most benefit from drug treatments and life style changes.

Keywords: ageing; epidemiology; erectile dysfunction.

Publication types

Observational Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aging*
Comorbidity
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / epidemiology
Endothelium, Vascular / physiopathology*
Health Status
Health Surveys
Humans
Hypertension / epidemiology
Impotence, Vasculogenic / diagnosis
Impotence, Vasculogenic / epidemiology
Impotence, Vasculogenic / physiopathology*
Male
Middle Aged
Penile Erection*
Risk Factors
Serbia / epidemiology
Vascular Diseases / diagnosis
Vascular Diseases / epidemiology
Vascular Diseases / physiopathology*