Objectives: Women are more frequently affected by connective tissue diseases like systemic sclerosis (SSc). Therefore, few studies exist on male-specific complaints. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of erectile dysfunction (ED) in SSc compared with other connective tissue diseases (CTD) and healthy controls.
Methods: 64 patients were analysed and compared with 123 age-matched HC. The 15-item International Index for Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire was used to assess sexual function. The prevalence of depression was quantified by using the validated Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
Results: Mean age was 52.3 years (SD 10.75) for SSc, 52.9 years (SD 11.01) for patients with other CTD and 52.6 (SD 12.37) for HC. Mean IIEF-15 score was 13.6 for SSc, 11.7 for other CTD and 23.6 for HC. ED was significantly more frequent in patients with SSc (55.0%) and other CTD (54.4%) than in HC (12.7%) (p<0.001) and correlated with diseases severity. The mean BDI score was 10.8 for SSc/CTD and 5.4 for HC (p<0.001). With 36.6%, SSc patients suffered more often from a depression than patients with other CTD (17.4%) and HC (6.3%). We found a significant correlation between the IIEF-15 and depression classified by BDI (r= -0.527; p<0.001).
Conclusions: This is the first study to show increased prevalence of ED, especially severe ED, in men with SSc compared to other CTD and age-matched HC. Physicians should be aware of this influence on sexual health and its correlation to depression and disease severity.