Poor glycemic control, impaired insulin sensitivity, and metabolic syndrome are associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction (ED), researchers reported in The Journal of Sexual Medicine (2013;10:3102-3109).
In a study of adult male participants in the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Aviva E. Weinberg, MD, of the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif., and colleagues found that subjects with a fasting plasma glucose level of 100-126 mg/dL and 126 mg/dL or higher had a 1.2% and 2.7 times increased odds of ED, respectively, compared with individuals who had lower levels. Participants with hemoglobin A1c values of 5.7%-6.4% and 6.5% or higher had a 1.7 and 3.7 times increased odds of ED, respectively, compared with those who had lower values.
When the researchers looked at fasting plasma insulin and the homeostatis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), they found a graded relationship among subjects in the top tertile.
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