Is erectile dysfunction an early clinical symptom of chronic kidney disease?

Objectives: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the persistent inability to attain and/or maintain erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a problem with increasing incidence every day which disrupts quality of life significantly. We aimed to research whether ED is a warning symptom for the early stages of CKD or not.

Materials and methods: The records of 639 patients attending Ordu University due to ED were retrospectively investigated. According to International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) scores and degree of ED, patients were compared in terms of GFR values.

Results: In 92.8% of patients, serum creatinine values were within normal limits (<1 mg/dL), while 30.5% of patients were observed to have GFR below 80. While stage 2 CKD was identified in 1% of the control group, this rate was calculated as 8% in the group with severe ED. In stage 1 and stage 2 CKD, IIEF scores were identified to be low by clear degree.

Conclusions: Results confirm that it was identified that the incidence of stage 1 and stage 2 CKD was higher among patients attending with ED compared to the control group. Just as ED may be an early clinical marker of coronary artery disease, it may be early warning symptom for CKD.