Association between serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels and erectile dysfunction: a cross-sectional study of Chinese male population

Abstract

Inflammation has been known to affect endothelial function and is involved in the progression of erectile dysfunction (ED). Thus, our present study was conducted to investigate the association between inflammatory marker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and ED in a Chinese male population. A total of 1515 participants with anthropometric measurements, serum analyses and hs-CRP values available were included in our cross-sectional study. Data involving socioeconomic and lifestyle factors were also collected. ED was assessed by the 5-item International Index Erectile Function (IIEF-5), and hs-CRP levels were measured by the immunoturbidimetric assay. Logistic regression was applied to estimate the association between the serum hs-CRP and the risk of ED, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was performed to identify the predictive value of hs-CRP. Serum hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in ED patients, and increased progressively with the incremental severity of ED ( P < 0.001 for trend). In the multivariate-adjusted model, men in the highest quartile of hs-CRP level versus those in the lowest quartile had a 50% increased likelihood for ED (OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.08–2.08). When subjects were stratified by age, the risk of ED was more prominently in the middle-aged and elderly men. Based on the ROC analysis, serum hs-CRP has a poor diagnostic value for ED with an AUC of 0.58 (95% CI: 0.56–0.61) but has a good diagnostic performance for differentiating severe ED (AUC: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.77–0.81). Our study indicates that increased serum hs-CRP levels are associated with the severity of ED and an increased ED risk in a Chinese male population. These findings suggest that hs-CRP may be of value as an inflammatory marker for the assessment of ED risk and may play an important role in the etiology of ED.

Differences in the prevalence of erectile dysfunction between novel subgroups of recent-onset diabetes

“…In turn, vascular damage triggers an inflammatory reaction and release of proinflammatory mediators, promoting insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction [ 39 ]. In our study, while serum levels of IL-6, sICAM-1 and sE-selectin did not differ between men with and without erectile dysfunction, we found an increase in hs-CRP levels similar to other studies [ 40 – 43 ].…”

Novel predictive risk factor for erectile dysfunction: Serum high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein

“…In nine studies on the relationship between CRP and ED, a total of 1363 ED patients and 1400 healthy controls were involved 21,22,27–33 . A forest plot comparing CRP levels between the two groups was shown in Figure 2.…”

Relationships of low‐grade systemic inflammation and nutritional status with erectile dysfunction severity in men on dialysis

“…observed in previous studies conducted in men without end-stage renal disease (ESRD). 10,22,23 Ventimiglia et al have conducted a crosssectional study in male patients with newly diagnosed ED and revealed that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a biomarker of systemic inflammation, was an independent predictor of severe ED. 10 Similarly, Li et al have reported that high-sensitivity CRP had a good diagnostic ability for differentiating severe ED in a population-based cross-sectional study.…”