Disease activity and erectile dysfunction in Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND: The association between disease activity and erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is inconsistent, although IBD, including ulcerative colitis (UC), is reported as a risk factor for ED. AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore this association in Japanese patients with UC. METHODS: In this study, we enrolled 165 Japanese male patients with UC. Information regarding the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) score, medication, and severity of UC was obtained from medical records, self-administered questionnaires, and reports from physicians. The definition of ED and severe ED is a SHIM score <17 and <8, respectively. OUTCOMES: No association between severity of UC and ED was found in Japanese patients. Aging is independently positively associated with ED in patients with UC. RESULTS: The prevalence of severe ED and ED was 47.9% and 64.9%, respectively. In this study, mucosal healing, clinical remission, duration of UC, disease extent, and medication were not associated with the prevalence of ED. Older age (≥63 years of age) was independently positively associated with ED (adjusted odds ratio, 12.93; 95% CI: 4.51-43.00) and severe ED (adjusted odds ratio, 9.02; 95% CI: 3.66-23.91). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Disease severity of UC might not be associated with the prevalence of ED in patients with UC. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: This is the first study to investigate the association between several factors regarding UC activity and ED. The limitation of this study is the definition of ED based on SHIM scores. CONCLUSION: No association between severity of UC and ED was found in Japanese patients. As expected, aging may be independently positively associated with ED in patients with UC.