Family history affects cardiometabolic risk among men with erectile dysfunction

Among men with erectile dysfunction (ED), family history (FH) of cardiometabolic factors appears to be linked with a poorer metabolic profile and may be used to improve cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification, a recent study has shown.

The study included 4,693 men with ED (mean age, 51.3±13.3 years) attending an andrology outpatient clinic. FH was determined through interviews. Outcomes included metabolic and sexual function parameters, including blood chemistry and anthropometry.

Of the participants, 28.7 percent (n=1,348) had FH for diabetes mellitus, 27.7 percent (n=1,299) for hypertension, 26.9 percent (n=1,264) for coronary artery disease, 9.7 percent (n=457) for stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA), and 2.1 percent (n=99) for peripheral arterial disease. Most either had no (38.9 percent) or one (34.7 percent) FH factors, while only 0.9 percent had ≥4 such factors.

After adjusting for age, the researchers found that having more FH factors was correlated with greater waist circumference, and higher blood glucose and glycated haemoglobin levels. Diastolic, but not systolic, blood pressure also spiked with more FH factors. On the other hand, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol dropped with increasing FH.

Further adjusting for the Chronic Disease Score, a higher number of FH factors was confirmed as a significant correlate of the number of metabolic syndrome components (p<0.0001).

A similar effect was reported for sexual function parameters, with greater FH factors correlating with a higher risk of moderate-to-severe ED.

A subset of 1,595 participants were followed after a mean of 4.2±2.5 years. Over this time period, a total of 136 major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occurred, most of which were of ischaemic heart disease (64.0 percent) or stroke/TIA (26.5 percent). Cox regression found that men with at least one FH parameter were significantly more at risk of MACEs (p=0.023).