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Prevalence and Associated Factors of Erectile Dysfunction in Patients With Moderate to Severe Psoriasis and Healthy Population: A Comparative Study Considering Physical and Psychological Factors

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Abstract

Recent studies have shown that psoriasis is associated with an increased prevalence of erectile dysfunction. To our knowledge, no comparative study has considered simultaneously the role of organic factors and psychological factors in this process. We performed a prospective case series study matched by age to explore the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in psoriasis patients compared to a healthy population and to investigate the role of anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular risk factors in the relationship between psoriasis and erectile dysfunction. The healthy group was matched by frequency to cases by age. Seventy-nine patients with moderate to severe psoriasis and 79 healthy controls participated in the study. Participants completed the Massachusetts General Hospital Sexual Functioning Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Psoriasis patients had an increased prevalence of erectile dysfunction in comparison to controls, 34.2 vs. 17.7 % (p < .05). Multivariate analysis showed a significant association between erectile dysfunction and age, smoking and anxiety/depression, but not with psoriasis per se. In conclusion, the higher prevalence of smoking and anxiety/depression among patients with moderate to severe psoriasis probably explains the higher prevalence of erectile dysfunction in this population.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Jean Sanders and Ingrid de Ruiter for improving the use of English in the article. The results of this study are part of Ph.D. work of Alejandro Molina-Leyva.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Complejo Hospitalario Torrecárdenas, Almeria, Spain

    Alejandro Molina-Leyva

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Ignacio Molina-Leyva & Jose Juan Jimenez-Moleon

  3. Department of Dermatology, Hospital Santa Ana, Granada, Spain

    Ana Almodovar-Real

  4. Department of Dermatology, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Granada, Avenida Doctor Oloriz 16, 18012, Granada, Spain

    Alejandro Molina-Leyva, Jose Carlos Ruiz-Carrascosa & Ramon Naranjo-Sintes

  5. CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Madrid, Spain

    Jose Juan Jimenez-Moleon

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  1. Alejandro Molina-Leyva
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  2. Ignacio Molina-Leyva
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Correspondence to Alejandro Molina-Leyva.

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Molina-Leyva, A., Molina-Leyva, I., Almodovar-Real, A. et al. Prevalence and Associated Factors of Erectile Dysfunction in Patients With Moderate to Severe Psoriasis and Healthy Population: A Comparative Study Considering Physical and Psychological Factors. Arch Sex Behav 45, 2047–2055 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0757-8

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