Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the incidence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in male patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and to assess the psychological impact on these patients. METHODS: This questionnaire-based pilot study was conducted at the outpatient Cardiology Department of the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman between January and December 2023. ED was assessed using the 5-item International Index of Erectile Function and the psychological state was assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. RESULTS: A total of 100 patients were included in this study (mean age = 59.5 ± 10.4 years); 62 patients self-reported ED and 69 had some form of ED based on the questionnaire. Moderate to severe ED was found in 30 patients; these patients were older (66.7 ± 10.4 versus 56.4 ± 8.8; P <0.001), more likely to have hypertension (93.3% versus 65.7%; P = 0.004) and hyperlipidaemia (93.3% versus 70%; P = 0.01) and less likely to have undergone PCI (70% versus 88.6%; P = 0.02). There was no effect of drug therapy or other co-morbidities. By binary logistic regression, age was the only predictive factor for ED (odds ratio = 1.12, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.22; P = 0.003). Additionally, 32%, 14% and 13% had severe or very severe anxiety, stress and depression, respectively. The ED score corelated negatively and significantly with the anxiety score (r = -0.485; P <0.001), the stress score (r = -0.36; P <0.001) and depression score (r = -0.38; P <0.001). CONCLUSION: This study found that ED is common in patients with IHD with significant psychological effects. Physicians should be aware of this while treating patients due to the effect on quality of life.