Middle-aged hypertensive men with ED
Men with hypertension are twice as likely to have erectile dysfunction as their peers with normal blood pressure, according to background information in the ESC press release.
Erectile dysfunction is thought to be a disorder of the small arteries, which lose their ability to dilate and increase blood flow. Declining testosterone levels in middle age also contribute to weakened erectile performance.
Physical fitness is linked with longer life in men with hypertension, and the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower blood pressure and fewer heart attacks and strokes in individuals at high cardiovascular risk.
Therefore, Dr. Angelis and colleagues aimed to see if greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with better exercise capacity, testosterone levels, coronary flow reserve, and erectile performance in middle-aged hypertensive men with erectile dysfunction.
Participants were a mean age of 56. They had a treadmill test to determine their exercise capacity, expressed as metabolic equivalent of tasks (METs), and a blood test to determine testosterone levels.
They replied to two questionnaires: a food questionnaire to determine a Mediterranean Diet score (range, 0-55, where higher scores indicate greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet) and a Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) questionnaire (score range, 0-25, where higher scores indicate better erectile performance).
Researchers used echocardiography to determine participants’ coronary flow reserve, a measure of the cardiovascular system’s ability to increase blood flow when needed. They used a SphygmoCor device to determine participants’ augmentation index and central pulse pressure, measures of arterial stiffness.
The men with a higher Mediterranean diet score (>29) had better erectile performance (SHIM scores > 14), as well as higher testosterone levels, higher coronary flow reserve, and less arterial stiffness than the other men.
The fitter men with greater exercise capacity (>10 METs) were more likely to adhere to a Mediterranean diet (scores > 25), and they also had better erectile performance (SHIM scores > 12), higher testosterone levels, greater coronary flow reserve, and less arterial stiffness than the other men.
The study did not receive any funding. The study authors and Mr. Whittaker have reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.