PARIS – Men with gout are significantly more likely to experience erectile dysfunction than are those without the disorder, Dr. Naomi Schlesinger said at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology.
In a survey of 201 men, erectile dysfunction (ED) occurred in 76% of 83 with gout and 52% of those without gout – a significant difference. In addition, 43% of those with gout and ED had severe erection difficulty – significantly more than those who had ED alone (30%).
Dr. Schlesinger, chief of rheumatology and connective tissue research at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J., said that ED can be a symptom of underlying cardiovascular disease. The small penile blood vessels can become atherosclerotic before the larger coronary vessels. The association between gout and ED remained significant even when she controlled for several cardiovascular risk factors: diabetes, hypertension, smoking, fasting glucose, and glomerular filtration rate.
Because of ED’s prevalence in this population – and because of its apparent association with cardiovascular disease – she advised that all men with gout be screened for sexual health.
"It’s not something physicians normally think to do" because of mutual embarrassment, she added.
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