Relation between hypertension and erectile dysfunction: a meta-analysisof cross-section studies.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a wide spread and troublesome problem in aging men. Many analyses of hypertensive patients suggest that the prevalence of ED in hypertensive populations is even higher. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the relation between hypertension and ED. A literature review was performed to identify all cross-section studies about hypertension and erectile dysfunction. Sources included MEDLINE and EMBASE from 1966 to 2015. The reference lists of the retrieved studies were also investigated, and a meta-analysis were conducted. Eighteen cross-section studies involving a total of 41,943 participants and 10,151 cases of ED were used in this analysis. We found that risk of ED was increased with hypertension (summary OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.58-2.14, p < 0.000001). Adjusting for obesity, unfavorable lipid levels, alcohol abuse, physical activity, cigarette smoking, educational level and other lifestyle factors, hypertension was also associated with increased risk of ED (summary OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.35-1.86, p < 0.00001). The results of this meta-analysis support that hypertension is associated with an increased risk of ED. Further high-quality prospective studies are needed to confirm this observation.