Prevalence of erectile dysfunction as long-COVID symptom in hospitalized Japanese patients, 2025, Kato et al

[forestglip]

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction as long-COVID symptom in hospitalized Japanese patients

Hideaki Kato, Nao Ichihara, Hiroki Saito, Shigeki Fujitani, Kohei Ota, Yuji Takahashi, Toshiyuki Harada, Takeshi Hattori, Mitsuru Komeya, Mariko Hosozawa, Yoko Muto, Miyuki Hori, Arisa Iba, Hiroyasu Iso, Hiroyasu Iso, The COVID-19 Recovery Study II Group

[Line breaks added]

Abstract
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a wide range of post-acute sequelae. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) that developed after COVID-19 and the associated underlying factors were analyzed based on a questionnaire survey, COVID-19 Recovery Study II in Japan.

A case–control study was conducted with those with or without ED one and two years hospitalized with COVID-19 between March and September 2021. Six hundred and nine Japanese men, with a median age of 48 years, were analyzed. During the study period, 116 subjects (19.0%) had erectile dysfunction.

The patients with ED responded with less subjective awareness of recovery and high breathless and fatigue scores compared to those without ED. The patients with ED also showed higher Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-D (depression) and the EuroQol 5-dimensions 5-level scores for pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression scores compared before COVID-19 infection.

Sleep disturbance was suggested to be associated with erectile dysfunction using an exploratory clustering analysis in the one-year survey. There were no associations of COVID-19 severity, reinfection, vaccination frequency, antiviral treatment for COVID-19 with the presence of erectile dysfunction. It was considered that mental support for the subject with erectile dysfunction as a long-COVID symptom is warranted.

Link | PDF (Scientific Reports) [Open Access]

 

[nafione]

"In the guidelines, the etiology of ED was divided into two categories: primary organic and primary psychogenic. For the organic cause, no significant association was found for the age, smoking habit, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity, which were generally known as a risk factor for ED in a general population. However, a strong association existed between the psychogenic aspect and ED after COVID-19."

"Regarding ED symptoms after COVID-19, supportive care and management for depression and sleep disturbances may be more critical."

To me, this is equivalent to: "We checked for four factors known to be associated with erectile dysfunction and didn't notice anything. We lack imagination and can't comprehend the existence of unknown mechanisms. Therefore we conclude it must be psychogenic in origin."

This, despite all the established evidence of dysautonomia, blood volume reduction, etc. Silly jokes about fainting from a good erection may be more insightful than this work.

I'm appalled at this mindset, which shows up everywhere in medicine. Why are they so resistant to the idea that one trigger could cause many simultaneous symptoms? I cringe every time they conclude something is depression when they can't prove what depression is either. It's criminal.