Association between Frailty and Erectile Dysfunction among Chinese Elderly Men

OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at assessing association between frailty and erectile dysfunction among Chinese elderly men. METHODS: This community-based study was conducted with a sample of 341 Chinese elderly men (aged 60 to 83 years old) in Fuyang City (Anhui Province, China). Each of the participants completed a standard questionnaire, including demographics (age, height, weight, yearly income, educational status, comorbidity, lifestyle factors, etc.), medical and sexual history, and the Chinese version of Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) and International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) for assessing frailty and erectile dysfunction (ED). RESULTS: The prevalence of ED and frailty in Chinese elderly men was 77.13% and 68.04%, respectively. Compared with the non-ED group, the ED group had increased age, spouse's age, BMI, prevalence of diabetes, and scores of TFI and lower yearly income, educational levels, and ratio of irregular intercourse (less than once per week) (all P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that age (OR: 0.860, 95% CI: 0.763-0.969), diabetes (OR: 0.330, 95% CI: 0.165-0.661), irregular intercourse (OR: 3.416, 95% CI: 1.874-6.229), and scores of TFI (OR: 0.906, 95% CI: 0.846-0.970) were regarded as independent risk factors for ED (all P < 0.05). And after adjusting for age, the TFI score had a negative significant association with the IIEF score (r = −0.134, P = 0.013). CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the strong associations between ED and frailty among elderly men. Sexual health care for elderly men with ED should be assessed and taken addressed on the multidimensional assessments of frailty.