By Jill Stein
LYON, France -- November 19, 2009 -- Men with mild erectile dysfunction (ED) have the same risk factors as men with moderate or severe ED and also have several concurrent comorbidities, according to data presented here at the 12th Congress of the European Society of Sexual Medicine (ESSM).
Based on their results, the investigators said that men who present with mild ED should undergo the same clinical evaluation and treatment discussion with their physician as men with more severe ED.
"Mild ED is often overlooked in clinical practice," said Jay Lee, MD, Rockyview Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, on November 18.
Dr. Lee and colleagues reviewed the demographic and risk factor profiles of 176 men with mild ED enrolled in a randomised, placebo-controlled trial of sildenafil and 14,537 men who were drawn from a sildenafil database that included 67 trials in men who generally had moderate or severe ED.
Risk factors for ED such as cigarette smoking were similar in patients with mild ED and patients with more severe ED.
In addition, a large proportion of men with mild ED had already been diagnosed with comorbidities. These included metabolism and nutrition problems (32%), hypertension (26%), psychiatric disorders (13%), and benign prostatic hyperplasia (10%). The frequency of comorbidities was similar in the database of patients with moderate or severe disease.
Also, 27% of the men with mild ED were receiving antihypertensive treatment, 23% statins, 11% diabetes treatments, and 6% alpha-blockers for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Erectile dysfunction may be an important indicator of cardiovascular disease, Dr. Lee noted in his poster presentation. In fact, studies have shown that the severity of ED is associated with the severity of coronary endothelial dysfunction and ischaemic heart disease and that the severity of ED is a predictor of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
He added that doctors should incorporate questions about ED as part of routine clinical evaluation in male patients so that men with ED of any severity can be identified early on to permit prompt intervention of both their ED and increased cardiovascular risk.
Funding for this study was provided by Pfizer Inc.
[Presentation Title: Do Men With Mild Erectile Dysfunction Have the Same Risk Factors as the General Erectile Clinical Trial Population? Abstract Number PO-03-005]
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