Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most common male sexual disorder that affects all age groups and has a close association with essential hypertension.

Aim

To characterize the relation of blood pressure and ED in detail.

Methods

A cross-sectional population-based study of 45 to 70 year old men without previously diagnosed hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, renal disease, or diabetes was conducted from 2005 to 2007 in southwestern Finland. A total of 665 men with at least one cardiovascular risk factor were studied. ED was defined by the five-item International Index of Erectile Function.

Outcomes

We found a U-shaped association between diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of ED.

Results

The average age of the study subjects was 56 ± 6 years and 52% had ED. After adjustment for age, cohabitation status, education, fasting plasma glucose level, waist circumference, and prevalence of depressive symptoms, the curve relating DBP to the prevalence of ED was U-shaped with a nadir of DBP 90 mm Hg.

Clinical Implications

Our findings emphasize the importance of blood pressure measurement in the physical examination of men with Erectile Dysfunction.

Strengths and Limitations

This was a cross-sectional study, which prevents the evaluation of causality between ED and hypertension. However, this community-based study population is well-defined and the anthropologic measurements were made by trained medical staff.

Conclusion

We found a U-shaped correlation between ED and DBP, which confirms the link between Erectile Dysfunction and hypertension.