Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) have a higher incidence of insulin resistance (IR) when compared with controls. DESIGN: Prospective case-control study. SETTING: Academic medical center. PATIENT(S): Twenty-nine nondiabetic men aged 18-66 years were enrolled. Of these, 28 completed the study: 17 had ED, and 11 did not. INTERVENTION(S): Validated ED questionnaires, examination, serum hormones evaluation, and oral glucose tolerance testing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Association of IR with ED. RESULT(S): The association between worsening degrees of both lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and ED was reaffirmed, as was a potential correlation between the two-epinephrine. There was a negative association between serum levels of epinephrine and scores on the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction for ED (Spearman correlation coefficient = -0.38). On the other hand, men with ED were not more likely to have IR compared with controls. CONCLUSION(S): Epinephrine may be the common link between ED and LUTS.