Erectile function and connective tissue diseases. Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in German men with systemic sclerosis compared to other connective tissue diseases and healthy subjects.

OBJECTIVES

Women are more frequently affected by connective tissue diseases like systemic sclerosis (SSc). Therefore, few studies exist on male-specific complaints. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of erectile dysfunction (ED) in SSc compared with other connective tissue diseases (CTD) and healthy controls.

METHODS

64 patients were analysed and compared with 123 age-matched HC. The 15-item International Index for Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire was used to assess sexual function. The prevalence of depression was quantified by using the validated Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

RESULTS

Mean age was 52.3 years (SD 10.75) for SSc, 52.9 years (SD 11.01) for patients with other CTD and 52.6 (SD 12.37) for HC. Mean IIEF-15 score was 13.6 for SSc, 11.7 for other CTD and 23.6 for HC. ED was significantly more frequent in patients with SSc (55.0%) and other CTD (54.4%) than in HC (12.7%) (p<0.001) and correlated with diseases severity. The mean BDI score was 10.8 for SSc/CTD and 5.4 for HC (p<0.001). With 36.6%, SSc patients suffered more often from a depression than patients with other CTD (17.4%) and HC (6.3%). We found a significant correlation between the IIEF-15 and depression classified by BDI (r= -0.527; p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to show increased prevalence of ED, especially severe ED, in men with SSc compared to other CTD and age-matched HC. Physicians should be aware of this influence on sexual health and its correlation to depression and disease severity.