Demographic, clinical and serological features of SLE and non-SLE patients with and without erectile dysfunction.
| Variables | With Erectile Dysfunction, n = 153 | Without Erectile Dysfunction, n = 76 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLE, n = 120, mean ± SEM | Non-SLE, n = 33, mean ± SEM | p | SLE, n = 54, mean ± SEM | Non-SLE, n = 22, mean ± SEM | p | |
| Demographic | ||||||
| Age, yrs | 36.3 ± 1.03 | 46.3 ± 2.2 | < 0.0001 | 32.5 ± 1.27 | 40.5 ± 2.25 | 0.002 |
| Weight, kg | 77.7 ± 1.41 | 77.5 ± 2.8 | 0.92 | 77 ± 1.83 | 77.6 ± 3.77 | 0.87 |
| Height, cm | 171 ± 1.4 | 166 ± 5.4 | 0.18 | 171 ± 0.99 | 168 ± 1.67 | 0.09 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 26.9 ± 0.46 | 26.2 ± 0.68 | 0.44 | 26 ± 0.60 | 27.1 ± 1.03 | 0.37 |
| Time since diagnosis, yrs | 8.1 ± 0.68 | 10.5 ± 1.32 | 0.10 | 7.9 ± 1.03 | 10.6 ± 1.69 | 0.16 |
| Activity of connective tissue diseasea | 69 (57) | 7/33 (21) | < 0.0001 | 28/54 (51) | 4/22 (18) | 0.01 |
| Laboratory features | ||||||
| Hemoglobin, g/dl | 14.1 ± 0.24 | 15.2 ± 0.33 | 0.02 | 16.2 ± 1.18 | 15.4 ± 0.54 | 0.66 |
| Leukocytes, cells/μl × 103 | 6.3 ± 0.22 | 7.7 ± 0.43 | 0.006 | 10.4 ± 3.23 | 10.4 ± 3.02 | 0.99 |
| Lymphocytes, cells/μl | 1333 ± 54 | 1707 ± 104 | 0.002 | 1644 ± 106 | 1774 ± 190 | 0.53 |
| Platelets, cells/μl × 103 | 232 ± 7.8 | 271 ± 20 | 0.03 | 229 ± 11.3 | 278 ± 22.1 | 0.03 |
| Creatinine, mg/dl | 1.72 ± 0.31 | 0.87 ± 0.04 | 0.008 | 1.38 ± 0.23 | 1.01 ± 0.18 | 0.35 |
| APS serology, n (%) | 29 (24) | 5 (15) | 0.47 | 13 (24) | 4 (18) | 0.76 |
| Use of immunosuppressive treatment, n (%) | 108 (90) | 26 (78) | 0.13 | 46 (85) | 17 (77) | 0.31 |
| Prednisone, n (%) | 82 (68) | 14 (42) | 0.008 | 28 (51) | 8 (36) | 0.31 |
| Current dose, mg/day | 9.3 ± 1.20 | 3.5 ± 1.12 | 0.017 | 5.32 ± 1.29 | 4.88 ± 1.96 | 0.85 |
| Cumulative dose, previous year, mg | 2525 ± 337 | 1555 ± 590 | 0.15 | 2398 ± 591 | 1236 ± 491 | 0.18 |
| Cumulative dose, 5 yrs, mg | 11584 ± 1167 | 5016 ± 1395 | 0.003 | 11278 ± 1836 | 5835 ± 2328 | 0.09 |
| Non-exposure to any steroid in previous year, n (%) | 29 (24) | 15 (45) | 0.029 | 23 (42) | 12 (54) | 0.45 |
| Azathioprine, n (%) | 39 (32) | 6 (18) | 0.13 | 18 (33) | 2 (9) | 0.04 |
| Current dose, mg/day | 32.9 ± 4.7 | 17.4 ± 6.5 | 0.11 | 31.9 ± 7.22 | 10.2 ± 5.85 | 0.02 |
| Antimalarial, n (%) | 73 (60) | 8 (24) | < 0.0001 | 34 (62) | 4 (18) | 0.01 |
| Current dose, mg/day | 137.2 ± 11.8 | 37.8 ± 14.1 | < 0.0001 | 123.1 ± 15.1 | 31.8 ± 14.9 | < 0.0001 |
| Methotrexate, n (%) | 16 (13) | 15 (45) | < 0.0001 | 7 (12) | 10 (45) | 0.005 |
| Current dose, mg/week | 2.21 ± 0.53 | 7.73 ± 1.58 | < 0.0001 | 1.60 ± 0.71 | 7.73 ± 2.10 | 0.01 |
| Mycophenolate mofetil, n (%) | 48 (40) | 1 (3) | < 0.0001 | 18 (33) | 1 (4) | 0.008 |
| Current dose, mg/day | 665 ± 88 | 37 ± 37.8 | < 0.0001 | 517 ± 123 | 90.9 ± 90.9 | 0.07 |
| Cumulative dose, 5 yrs, g | 804 ± 154.4 | 195 ± 195 | 0.034 | 743 ± 179 | 235 ± 235 | 0.09 |
| Cyclophosphamide exposure previous 6 mos, n (%) | 12 (10) | 1 (3) | 0.30 | 4 (7) | 0 (0) | 0.31 |
| Cumulative dose, 6 mos, g | 0.36 ± 0.13 | 0.18 ± 0.18 | 0.52 | 0.31 ± 0.18 | 0 ± 0 | 0.09 |
| Cyclophosphamide exposure, lifelong, n (%) | 62 (51) | 3 (9) | < 0.0001 | 23 (42) | 1 (4) | 0.001 |
| Cumulative dose, lifelong, g | 10.9 ± 3.6 | 0.22 ± 0.19 | 0.004 | 11.5 ± 6.2 | 0.70 ± 0.52 | 0.09 |
| Nonimmunosuppressive treatment, n (%) | 97 (80) | 25 (75) | 0.65 | 41 (75) | 15 (68) | 0.56 |
| Any comorbidities, n (%) | 63 (52) | 14 (42) | 0.33 | 24 (44) | 10 (45) | 1 |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 6 (5) | 6 (18) | 0.02 | 0 (0) | 4 (18) | 0.006 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 44 (36) | 14 (42) | 0.54 | 14 (25) | 4 (18) | 0.56 |
| Major depressive disorder, n (%) | 5 (4) | 0 (0) | 0.32 | 3 (5) | 0 (0) | 0.54 |
| Dyslipidemiab, n (%) | 33 (27) | 9 (27) | 1 | 12 (22) | 6 (27) | 0.76 |
| Coronary heart diseasec, n (%) | 5 (4) | 0 (0) | 0.58 | 0 (0) | 2 (9) | 0.08 |
| Arterial and/or venous thrombosis, n (%) | 32 (26) | 5 (15) | 0.25 | 12 (22) | 2 (9) | 0.21 |
| Peripheral arterial diseased, n (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | 0.21 | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ND |
| Smokinge, n (%) | 32 (26) | 7 (21) | 0.90 | 11 (20) | 4 (18) | 1 |
| Genitourinary surgeryf, n (%) | 6 (5) | 2 (6) | 0.68 | 3 (5) | 0 (0) | 0.55 |
Values shown in bold represent statistically significant p values.
↵a Disease activity was defined for non-SLE as an increase or addition of any immunosuppressive treatment according to physician’s assessment; activity for SLE group was defined by SLEDAI ≥ 6 points.
↵b Hypercholesterolemia ≥ 200 mg/dl (5.18 mmol/l) and/or hypertriglyceridemia ≥ 150 mg/dl (1.69 mmol/l).
↵c Proven by angiography in the last 10 years.
↵d Proven by angiography and/or Doppler ultrasound in the last 10 years.
↵e Current or in the past 5 years.
↵f Any urinary tract, prostate, penis, or testicle surgery, excluding circumcision. SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus; SEM: standard error of the mean; BMI: body mass index; APS: antiphospholipid syndrome; SLEDAI: SLE Disease Activity Index; ND: not determined.