Erectile dysfunction in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health problem worldwide and in Egypt. Several studies have suggested that chronic HCV infection may be associated with erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. The aim of our study was to detect the prevalence of ED among male patients with chronic HCV infection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included 150 male patients with chronic HCV infection (124 patients with chronic hepatitis and 26 patients with HCV-associated liver cirrhosis). The Child-Pugh score was used to assess the severity of cirrhosis. An Arabic validated version of the five-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) was used to detect the presence and severity of ED.

RESULTS

The patients' age ranged from 20 to 80 years with mean age±standard deviation (SD; 50±17.19) years. The prevalence of ED among patients with chronic HCV infection was found to be 29.3%. The prevalence was significantly higher in cirrhotic as compared to chronic hepatitis patients (p<0.001) and the average ED score was significantly lower in patients with liver cirrhosis than in those with chronic hepatitis. There was a highly significant relation between the severity of ED and the severity of liver disease. There was a significant negative correlation between serum bilirubin and ED score and a significant positive correlation between serum albumin and ED score in patients with liver cirrhosis.

CONCLUSION

About 30% of patients with chronic HCV infection were found to have ED; so, given the high prevalence of HCV infection in Egypt, chronic HCV infection may be considered in the differential diagnosis of ED. There was a highly significant relation between the severity of ED and the severity of liver disease and the majority of patients with liver cirrhosis proved to be suffering from ED, which may be related to the associated hypoalbuminaemia.