A recent study published in Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine revealed that nearly three-quarters of men suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, are also afflicted with erectile dysfunction. The study utilized 70 male COPD patients and 68 healthy controls, and discovered the rate of erectile dysfunction was 78.6% and 55.8%, respectively. Despite these findings, erectile dysfunction is not listed as a comorbidity by the Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Diseases (GOLD) guidelines. Researchers believe that men suffering from COPD aren’t being properly warned of the possibility of erectile dysfunction, and argue that the malady should be added to the guideline.
COPD Erection Issues Increase Results
The conductors of the study examined a variety of factors during their research in an attempt to find out what caused erectile dysfunction to be so prevalent in COPD men. During the study, the researchers discovered that there were many differences between the COPD patients and the control group.
* The COPD men had lower oxygen saturation than the men in the control group. (93.2 vs 95.8 mmHg)
* The COPD men were more likely to be current smokers. (48.6% vs 14.7%)
* The COPD men had higher follicle-stimulating hormone (12.5 vs 9.1 mIU/mL)
* The COPD men had higher luteinizing hormones (9.8 vs 6.6 mIU/mL)
* The COPD men higher estradiol levels (39.1 vs 22.8 pg/ml)
* The COPD men had a higher proportion of depression than the men in the control group (48.6% vs 23.5%)
Researchers believe that these findings could all be contributing factors to the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in COPD patients. The study concluded that these results prove that erectile dysfunction is a real problem for men that are afflicted with COP. The researchers hope that this study will lead to erectile dysfunction being added to GOLD’s guidelines, which will help physicians to accurately warn COPD men what they may have to deal with.
Evan Hopkins is a 24 year old writer operating out of Atlanta, GA. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading books, drinking coffee, and folk music.