Real-world observational results from a database of 48 million men in the United States: Relationship of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and depression with age and erectile dysfunction.

AIMS: To evaluate the relationship of comorbidities (cardiovascular disease [CVD], diabetes mellitus [DM] and depression) with erectile dysfunction (ED) and age using real-world claims data from 48 million men in the United States.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, non-interventional study in men aged ≥18 years using data from the Truven Health MarketScan® and Medicare Supplemental Research Databases from January 2010 to December 2015, with an observational period of January 2011 to December 2014 to allow for 12 months pre- and post-index. Comorbidity rate was compared between ED and non-ED groups by age using the χ2 (bivariate) test. Comorbidity relationship to ED after controlling for categorical variables was assessed using logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS: In all, 48 004 379 men were in the database. Of the 9 839 578 who met the inclusion criteria, 573 313 (6%) were ED patients and 9 266 265 (94%) were non-ED patients. ED diagnosis increased decade to decade from 18-29 years to 50-59 years but decreased from 60-69 years to ≥90 years. ED patients had a higher prevalence of CVD, DM and depression than non-ED patients in all periods (P < .0001). After controlling for potential demographic and baseline confounders, the association between ED and CVD, DM and depression remained significant for each age group beginning at 30-39 years (P < .0001).

DISCUSSION: Conversations with patients concerning ED should be comprehensive regardless of patient age, in particular in those who have CVD, DM and/or depression.

CONCLUSIONS: In the real-world setting, ED diagnosis was associated with CVD, DM and depression across age groups, suggesting a need for inquiry about the potential for comorbidities among these men as a preventative measure against potentially serious future events.