Abstract

Background: Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to attain or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. There is a very high prevalence of ED among dialysis patients. Aim of the study: To identify the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in a uremic patient undergoing haemodialysis at Al-kadhimiya and Al-Kindey Teaching Hospitals to find the association between Erectile Dysfunction with age, haemoglobin, diabetes mellitus, albumin, urea, creatinine, systolic blood pressure, hepatitis C infection, HBV infection, smoking and the duration of dialysis. Patients and methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional, hospital-based study conducted from the 1^st of November 2021 to the 27^th of January 2022 in the Haemodialysis unit of Al-Kadhimiya and Al-Khindy teaching hospitals in Baghdad City. All male patients of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance haemodialysis therapy, whose spouses are alive, were included in the study. Patients with acute renal failure and those with cognitive and communication deficits were excluded from the study. International index of erectile function-5 (IIEF-5) was used for the determination of the prevalence of erectile function. Patients are divided into two groups according to the international index of erectile function 5, the first group with erectile dysfunction for those with a score of 21 and less, and the second group without erectile dysfunction for those with a score of 22 and more (total score is 25). Results and discussion: Total numbers of patients were fifty-three. Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in our study sample was 84.9 %. Factors responsible for erectile dysfunction are diabetes mellitus (73.3% of patients with erectile dysfunction had diabetes mellitus), increasing age (75.5% of patients with erectile dysfunction were of the age group of more than 35 years), high pre-dialysis urea level (82.2% of patients with erectile dysfunction had urea level of 150mg/dl or more). In this study, smoking, hepatitis B virus surface anti-gene state, hepatitis C virus antibody state, systolic blood pressure, albumin, creatinine, haemoglobin, and the duration of dialysis are not related with ED. Conclusion: Majority of the patients suffering from ESRD, on maintenance haemodialysis, are having Erectile Dysfunction. Major factors responsible for Erectile Dysfunction are diabetes mellitus, increasing age, and high pre-dialysis urea

Keywords

Haemodialysis, erectile dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, age, international index of erectile function 5