Relationship of Blood Pressure and Erectile Dysfunction in Men Without Previously Diagnosed Hypertension

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most common male sexual disorder that affects all age groups and has a close association with essential hypertension. Aim: To characterize the relation of blood pressure and ED in detail. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study of 45- to 70-year-old men without previously diagnosed hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, renal disease, or diabetes was conducted from 2005 to 2007 in southwestern Finland. A total of 665 men with at least one cardiovascular risk factor were studied. ED was defined by the five-item International Index of Erectile Function. Outcomes: We found a U-shaped association between diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of ED. Results: The average age of the study subjects was 56 +/- 6 years and 52% had ED. After adjustment for age, cohabitation status, education, fasting plasma glucose level, waist circumference, and prevalence of depressive symptoms, the curve relating DBP to the prevalence of ED was U-shaped with a nadir of DBP 90 mm Hg. Clinical Implications: Our findings emphasize the importance of blood pressure measurement in the physical examination of men with ED. Strengths and Limitations: This was a cross-sectional study, which prevents the evaluation of causality between ED and hypertension. However, this community-based study population is well defined and the anthropologic measurements were made by trained medical staff. Conclusion: We found a U-shaped correlation between ED and DBP, which confirms the link between ED and hypertension. Copyright (C) 2017, International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.