Objective: To investigate the correlation of frailty with ED in Chinese elderly men.
Methods: This community-based study was conducted with a sample of 258 Chinese men aged 60 to 83 years old in Fuyang City, Anhui Province. All the participants completed a standard questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle, underlying diseases and medical and sexual histories. They also scored on the Chinese version of Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) and International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5).
Results: The incidence rates of ED and frailty in the elderly men were 85.27% and 75.58%, respectively. The ED patients, compared with the non-ED males, had a significantly older age (［71.25 ± 5.83］ vs ［66.92 ± 5.44］ yr, P < 0.01) and higher body mass index (［24.37 ± 3.31］ vs ［23.35 ± 2.97］ kg/m 2, P < 0.05), incidence of diabetes mellitus (38.0% vs 19.2%, P < 0.05) and TFI scores (8.61 ± 4.29 vs 5.95 ± 4.36, P < 0.05), but lower education and frequency of irregular intercourse (less than once a week) (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that diabetes (OR：3.292，95% CI：1.236－8.768), irregular intercourse (OR：2.425，95% CI：1.114－5.279), and scores of frailty (OR：4.502，95% CI：1.905－10.640) were regarded as independent risk factors for ED (all P < 0.05).
Conclusion: There is a strong correlation between ED and frailty in elderly men. Sexual health care for elderly ED patients should be more focused on the multidimensional assessment and treatment of senile frailty.
Keywords: elderly male; senile frailty; erectile dysfunction; correlation.