Erectile dysfunction in chronic renal failure patients undergoing haemodialysis

الملخص EN

n clinical practice, the attention given to sexual problems in patients with end stage renal disease is low.

In order to evaluate the erectile function in chronic renal failure (CRF) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) as a renal replacement therapy (RRT), we used the abridged version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5).

Seventy-five patients were subjected to clinical and laboratory investigations.

The following clinical data were evaluated: age, presence of hypertension, smoking, history of ischemic heart disease and duration of dialysis.

Hemoglobin level, creatinine level, blood urea, albumin and glucose were evaluated.

The controls were 148 healthy males representing the general Egyptian population.

The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) among the HD patients was 82.5% compared to 29.1% among controls.

The prevalence of ED in HD group was significantly higher than in controls.

The study subjects were classified according to their age into four groups as follows: up to 39, 40-49, 50-59 and more than 60 years.

The prevalence of ED in HD patients at these age groups was 86.7%, 77%, 88.9% and 85.7% respectively while the prevalence of ED in controls was 27.1%, 31.1%, 68.6% and 80%.

The severity of ED was classified according to the IIEF-5 score into no ED, mild, mild to moderate, moderate, through severe.

The prevalence of all degrees of severity of ED was significantly higher in the age groups <39 and 40-49 years compared to controls.

On the other hand, only severe degree of ED showed a statistical significance compared to controls in age groups 50-59 and > 60 years.

The univariate logistic regression analysis showed that age (r= -0.3368, P<0.01), serum urea (r= -0.5974, P<0.001), and creatinine level (r= -0.5804, P<0.001) had significant negative correlations with the IIEF-5 score among HD patients.

While serum hemoglobin (r= 0.3396, P<0.001) and years of hemodialysis (r= 0.3147, P<0.01) had significant positive correlations with the IIEF-5 score among HD patients.

In view of the observed high prevalence of ED among HD patients, we believe that a complete health evaluation of male HD patients should include a discussion about erectile function in the standard clinical care program ofpatients with renal disease.

Key words: Renal failure, hemodialysis, erectile dysfunction.