Assessment of quality of life and erectile dysfunction in a sample of diabetic Egyptian men:

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction among Egyptian male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The relation between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and erectile dysfunction (ED) has been identified in multiple studies. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the prevalence and to determine some associated factors of ED among a sample of adult Egyptian male patients with T2DM.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 150 adult male patients with T2DM (aged 40-60 years) who attended the outpatient clinic of Diabetes in Alexandria Main University hospital. They were evaluated for the presence of ED which was assessed by the validated Arabic-translated five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) questionnaire. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, total serum cholesterol, HDL-C, total serum testosterone (TT) and urinary albumin creatinine ratio (uACR) were measured for all study subjects.

RESULTS

The prevalence of ED was 80% among the studied sample. Significant negative correlation was found between IIEF-5 score and age, duration of diabetes, FBG and urinary ACR; while there was a significant positive correlation between IIEF-5 score and serum total testosterone. On performing multiple linear regression analysis for the parameters affecting IIEF-5 questionnaire score, TT, urinary ACR, age and FBG were the independent predictors of ED.

CONCLUSION

ED was a common finding in our sample of Egyptian men with T2DM. Poor glycemic control and albuminuria may be considered as independent risk factors for ED.

The safety and efficacy of acupuncture for erectile dysfunction: A network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Erectile dysfunction is a common male disease, the constant pace of life, increasing pressure on life, and changes in diet, living environment, lifestyle, etc., lead to an increase in the number of patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). Acupuncture has been widely used in clinical trials of ED in recent years. There are many clinical trials that confirm that acupuncture can improve male erectile function. This study used a network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the effectiveness and safety of different forms of acupuncture on ED.

METHODS

We will search for PubMed, Cochrane Library, AMED, EMBASE, WorldSciNet; Nature, Science online and China Journal Full-text Database (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), China Biomedical Literature CD-ROM Database (CBM), and related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) included in the China Resources Database. The time is limited from the construction of the library to December 2018. The quality of the included RCTs will be evaluated with the risk of bias tool and evidence will be evaluated by Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation. STATA 13.0 and WinBUGS 1.4.3 through the GeMTC package will be used to perform an NMA to synthesize direct and indirect evidence.

The willingness of Saudi men with type 2 diabetes to discuss erectile dysfunction with their physicians and the factors that influence this

OBJECTIVES

The study's objectives were to find out the proportion of Saudi men with type 2 diabetes who have been asked by their physicians about erectile dysfunction (ED) in the last year, to determine the willingness of Saudi men with type 2 diabetes to discuss ED, and to explore the factors that may be related to their willingness to discuss ED with their physicians.

METHODS

This study employed a cross-sectional survey design using a quantitative self-administered questionnaire among 309 Saudi men with type 2 diabetes. The study was conducted in hospital-based primary care clinics at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the period from July to September 2015.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 60.2 years with the mean duration of diabetes approximately 12.5 years. Few of the patients (9.7%) had been asked by their physicians about ED within the last year of attending the clinics although most patients (84.8%) were willing to discuss this issue. The presence of ED among the respondents was 89%. Two participants' characteristics were associated with a willingness to discuss ED with the physicians. These characteristics were age above 60 (OR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.11-0.55), and having severe ED (OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.08-0.85). The respondents' main barriers to discussing ED with their physicians were embarrassing the doctor, ED is a personal issue, too old or too sick to address ED issues now, no effective treatment available, and the doctor is too young to discuss ED with.

CONCLUSIONS

Most patients who have type 2 diabetes are not asked about ED within the last year of attendance even though most are willing to discuss it with their physicians. Being older and suffering more severe ED will result in being less willing to discuss ED with their doctor. Further research is needed to explore the barriers which prevent physicians from discussing ED with their patients who have diabetes.