Department of Urology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 Jul 11;15:1391013. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1391013. eCollection 2024.
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) serves as a significant biomarker of aging. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a commonly observed condition among middle-aged and older men. The objective of this study is to explore the potential association between LTL and ED.
We utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine the association between LTL and ED. Weighted multivariate regression analyses were performed as the primary statistical method. Subgroup analyses were conducted to investigate specific population subsets, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were employed to assess the non-linear relationship between LTL and ED.
The results of weighted multivariate regression analyses revealed a negative correlation between LTL and the risk of ED. Individuals with ED exhibited shorter LTL compared to those without ED. For each unit increase in LTL, there was a 54% reduction in the risk of ED (odds ratios[OR] 0.46, 95% confidence intervals[CI] 0.25-0.85). When LTL was considered as a categorical variable, the group with the longest LTL (Q5) had a 44% lower risk of ED compared to the group with the shortest LTL(Q1) (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.39-0.81). A non-linear relationship was observed between TL and ED. Various sensitivity analyses were conducted to validate the stability of the results, and consistent findings were obtained.
The negative association between leukocyte LTL and ED suggests that delaying the shortening of LTL may decrease the risk of ED.
白细胞端粒长度（LTL）可作为衰老的重要生物标志物。勃起功能障碍（ED）是中年和老年男性中常见的病症。本研究旨在探讨 LTL 与 ED 之间的潜在关联。
我们利用国家健康和营养检查调查（NHANES）的数据来研究 LTL 与 ED 之间的关联。作为主要统计方法，我们进行了加权多变量回归分析。进行了亚组分析，以调查特定人群亚组，并且使用限制性立方样条（RCS）分析评估了 LTL 和 ED 之间的非线性关系。
加权多变量回归分析的结果表明，LTL 与 ED 的风险之间存在负相关。患有 ED 的个体的 LTL 比没有 ED 的个体更短。LTL 每增加一个单位，ED 的风险就会降低 54%（比值比[OR]0.46，95%置信区间[CI]0.25-0.85）。当 LTL 被视为分类变量时，LTL 最长的组（Q5）发生 ED 的风险比 LTL 最短的组（Q1）低 44%（OR 0.56，95%CI 0.39-0.81）。观察到 LTL 和 ED 之间存在非线性关系。进行了各种敏感性分析以验证结果的稳定性，并且得出了一致的发现。
白细胞 LTL 与 ED 之间的负相关表明，延迟 LTL 的缩短可能会降低 ED 的风险。
