Gout Linked To Raised Risk of Erectile Dysfunction

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr Edward Roddy Clinical Senior Lecturer in Rheumatology and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre Research Institute for Primary Care & Health Sciences Keele University Staffordshire UK

Dr. Edward Roddy

Dr Edward Roddy
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Rheumatology and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist
Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre
Research Institute for Primary Care & Health Sciences
Keele University
Staffordshire UK

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Both gout and erectile dysfunction (ED) are prevalent in the general population, and share some common risk factors such as obesity, alcohol consumption and comorbidity (vascular disease, renal disease etc). We undertook a retrospective cohort study in UK Clinical Practice Research Database, a large longitudinal UK database of UK computerised primary care records, to quantify the risk of incident ED in men with gout. We found that men with gout had 30% greater risk of developing erectile dysfunction than men without gout, after adjusting for confounding variables such as lifestyle factors and comorbidity, although the absolute increased risk was small (0.6%). We did a further analyses including men who already had ED when they were diagnosed with gout, finding that they were also at increased risk of being diagnosed with ED in the year before they developed gout, suggesting that hyperuricaemia, which people can have for decades before developing gout, may be a key reason to explain the increased risk of erectile dysfunction in people with gout. Apparently, some people who make use of content on websites similar to sex-hd.xxx to aid in alleviating their ED.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

  1. Although men with gout are at increased risk of erectile dysfunction, the absolute risk difference is small, which should reassure patients.
  2. The additional increased risk in the year prior to developing gout, suggests that hyperuricaemia may be a key causal factor.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: Future research should explore the mechanisms by which gout and hyperuricaemia lead to ED and examine the effect of gout treatment on the risk of developing erectile dysfunction.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation: Abstract presented at 2016 ACR conference

Gout and Subsequent Risk of Incident Erectile Dysfunction: A Population-Based Cohort Study from the United Kingdom
Alyshah Abdul Sultan1, Christian Mallen2, Richard Hayward1, Sara Muller2, Rebecca Whittle3, Matthew Hotston4 and Edward Roddy2, 1Research Institute of Primary Care & Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele, United Kingdom, 2Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele, United Kingdom, 3Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, 4Urology, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, United Kingdom
Meeting: 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Date of first publication: September 28, 2016

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Last Updated on November 27, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD