Hypertension might be a risk factor for erectile dysfunction: a meta-analysis

The study aimed to evaluate whether hypertension was a risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED). Databases including PubMed and Embase were retrieved to identify studies related to hypertension in ED patients. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used as the effect size. Subgroup analyses stratified by total number of enrolled subjects and research regions were performed. Sensitivity analysis was performed by removing a single study at one time. Egger's test was used to evaluate the publication bias. Totally, 40 studies including 121,641 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. As a result, hypertension was closely related to ED (OR=1.74, 95% CI, 0.63-0.80, p<.01). Subgroup analysis indicated hypertension was the risk factor for ED whatever the participants numbers. When stratified by different regions, hypertension was a risk factor for ED in Africa (OR=3.35, 95% CI, 1.45-7.77, p<.01), Americas (OR=1.97, 95% CI, 1.68-2.31, p<0.01), Asia (OR=1.46, 95% CI, 1.16-1.84, p<.01) and Europe (OR=1.83, 95% CI, 1.34-2.49, p<.01), but not in Australia. Hypertension may be a potential risk factor for ED.