Gök Alper, Altan Mehmet, Doğan Ahmet Emin, Eraslan Aşır, Uysal Fahrettin Şamil, Öztürk Ufuk, Saguner Ardan Muammer, İmamoğlu Muhammet Abdurrahim
Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Ankara 34668, Turkey.
Department of Urology, Etlik City Hospital, Ankara 06170, Turkey.
J Clin Med. 2023 Feb 3;12(3):1241. doi: 10.3390/jcm12031241.
Some studies have shown that there may be an increase in the frequency of erectile dysfunction after COVID-19. However, no long-term study has investigated whether this is permanent or temporary. In this study, we aimed to examine whether there was an increase in the frequency of erectile dysfunction among individuals with a history of COVID-19, and, if there was, whether their condition improved over time.
In this study, a total of 125 healthy male healthcare workers, 95 with and 30 without a history of COVID-19, were evaluated in terms of erectile function. Four study groups were formed. The first three groups consisted of individuals with a history of COVID-19 confirmed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at different times, who recovered from the disease (time elapsed since COVID-19 positivity: <6 months for Group 1, 6 to 12 months for Group 2, and >12 months for Group 3). The individuals in Group 4 did not have a history of COVID-19 diagnosis. In order to evaluate the erectile function of the participants, they were asked to complete the five-item International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire (IIEF-5). Then, statistical analyses were performed to evaluate whether there was a difference between the groups in terms of the IIEF-5 scores.
There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the IIEF-5 scores ( 0.001), and this difference was determined to be caused by the significantly higher IIEF-5 scores of Groups 3 and 4 compared to Group 1 ( 0.004 and 0.001, respectively). In addition, the IIEF-5 score of Group 4 was statistically significantly higher than that of Group 2 ( 0.001). However, the IIEF-5 scores did not statistically significantly differ between Groups 1 and 2, Groups 2 and 3, and Groups 3 and 4 ( > 0.999, 0.204, and 0.592, respectively).
There may be deterioration in erectile function after COVID-19; however, this tends to improve over time, especially from the first year after active infection. Given that vascular, hormonal, and/or psychogenic factors may lead to the development of erectile dysfunction after COVID-19, we consider that in order to easily manage this process, it is important to determine the underlying cause, initiate appropriate treatment, and inform couples that this situation can be temporary.
一些研究表明，感染新冠病毒后勃起功能障碍的发生率可能会增加。然而，尚无长期研究调查这是永久性的还是暂时性的。在本研究中，我们旨在研究有新冠病毒感染史的个体中勃起功能障碍的发生率是否增加，以及如果增加，其状况是否会随时间改善。
在本研究中，共对125名健康男性医护人员进行了勃起功能评估，其中95人有新冠病毒感染史，30人无新冠病毒感染史。形成了四个研究组。前三组由在不同时间通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测确诊感染新冠病毒且已康复的个体组成（自新冠病毒检测呈阳性起经过的时间：第1组<6个月，第2组6至12个月，第3组>12个月）。第4组个体无新冠病毒感染诊断史。为评估参与者的勃起功能，要求他们完成五项国际勃起功能指数问卷（IIEF-5）。然后进行统计分析，以评估各组在IIEF-5评分方面是否存在差异。
各组在IIEF-5评分方面存在统计学显著差异（P<0.001），且该差异被确定是由于第3组和第4组的IIEF-5评分显著高于第1组（分别为P<0.004和P<0.001）。此外，第4组的IIEF-5评分在统计学上显著高于第2组（P<0.001）。然而，第1组和第2组、第2组和第3组以及第3组和第4组之间的IIEF-5评分在统计学上无显著差异（分别为P>0.999、P = 0.204和P = 0.592）。
新冠病毒感染后勃起功能可能会恶化；然而，这种情况往往会随时间改善，尤其是在活跃感染后的第一年。鉴于血管、激素和/或心理因素可能导致新冠病毒感染后勃起功能障碍的发生，我们认为为了便于管理这一过程，确定潜在病因、启动适当治疗并告知夫妻这种情况可能是暂时的很重要。
