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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Prevalence and risk factors of erectile dysfunction in patients with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus or chronic liver disease: results from a prospective study

Ivan Gentile A , Ferdinando Fusco B , Antonio Riccardo Buonomo A C , Riccardo Scotto A , Emanuela Zappulo A , Biagio Pinchera A , Francesco Persico B , Gianluigi Califano B , Guglielmo Borgia A and Nicola Longo B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery - Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80131, Italy.

B Urology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Science of Reproduction and Odontostomatology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80131, Italy.

C Corresponding author. Email: antonioriccardobuonomo@gmail.com

Sexual Health 15(5) 408-412 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH17168
Submitted: 5 September 2017  Accepted: 22 May 2018   Published: 26 July 2018

Abstract

Background: Approximately 300 million people are affected by hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection worldwide. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a frequent condition that impairs the quality of life and can be associated with several chronic disorders (type 2 diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, depression). Few studies have evaluated the prevalence of ED in patients with HBV and HCV chronic infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and the risk factors of ED in a cohort of patients with HBV or HCV-related chronic liver diseases. Methods: Consecutive patients with HCV and HBV chronic infection were enrolled. Results: In total, 89 out (49 with cirrhosis, 21 with HBV and 68 with HCV infection) were included in this study. ED was diagnosed in 76.4% of patients. The use of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors was reported by 21.3% of patients. Patients with ED were older and had a higher rate of cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus compared with patients without ED. At multivariate analysis, diabetes mellitus and stage of liver disease (cirrhosis vs chronic hepatitis) were the only independent predictors of ED. Conclusion: Due to the high rate of ED in outpatients with viral-related liver disease and the underuse of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, a larger study focussed on these patients is needed.

Additional keywords: Erectile dysfunction, chronic viral infection, cirhhosis, liver disease.


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