Introduction
There is growing evidence of a link between erectile dysfunction (ED) and coronary artery disease (CAD).
Aims
The purpose of this study was to explore the independent determinants of CAD in ED outpatients.
Methods
This study enrolled 243 patients, ranging in age from 21 to 81 years old, suffering from ED as diagnosed by the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) scores. All patients underwent exercise stress tests or thallium-201 single-photon emission computed tomography perfusion imagings. Based on examination results, patients were divided into study (22 patients with a positive finding) and control groups (221 patients with a negative finding).
Main Outcome Measures
The differences of demographic characteristics, biochemical profiles, pro-inflammatory and inflammatory markers, and echocardiographic characteristics between study and control group were compared.
Results
The age, presence of DM and current smoking status were significant high in the study group. A significant lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, a higher percentage of HDL cholesterol level<40 mg/dL, and a higher apo-lipoprotein B/A1, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and homocysteine found in the study group. The Framingham cardiac risk scores, the ratio of mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic velocity in the annulus derived by tissue Doppler imaging (E/Et), the ratio of E/Et ≥ 15, the value of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and IMT ≥ 1 mm were higher in study group than in the control group. In stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis, a high waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), high IMT, high E/Et, hs-CRP levels, LDL cholesterol ≥ 130 mg/dL, smoking status, and the presence of DM and metabolic syndrome (MS) were independent determinants of CAD in ED patients.
Conclusions
This study first shows the independent determinants of CAD in ED outpatients. This novel finding may improve the screening of low-risk ED patients for CAD.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.