Posttraumatic stress disorder and the risk of erectile dysfunction: a nationwide cohort study in Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and the risk of developing erectile dysfunction. Methods In this population-based retrospective cohort study, we used Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database to analyze patients who were newly diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between 2000 and 2013, with a 1:3 ratio by age and index year matched with patients in a non-PTSD comparison group, for the risk of erectile dysfunction. Results In total, 5 out of 1079 patients in the PTSD group developed erectile dysfunction, and 3 out of 3237 patients in the non-PTSD group (47.58 vs. 9.03 per 100,000 per person-year) developed erectile dysfunction. The Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the PTSD cohort had a significantly higher risk of erectile dysfunction (log-rank, p < 0.001). The Cox regression analysis revealed that the study subjects were more likely to develop an injury (hazard ratio: 12.898, 95% confidence intervals = 2.453–67.811, p = 0.003) after adjusting for age, monthly income, urbanization level, geographic region, and comorbidities. Psychotropic medications used by the patients with PTSD were not associated with the risk of erectile dysfunction. Conclusions Patients who suffered from PTSD had a higher risk of developing erectile dysfunction.