Prevalence of Erectile Dysfunction in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an under-recognized clinical entity in men with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and studies on renal transplant recipients, patients on dialysis, and patients starting dialysis report different prevalence rates and severity of ED among these groups.

Aim: To determine the prevalence and severity of ED in patients with ESRD, assessed with the International Index of Erectile Function-15 and International Index of Erectile Function-5.

Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies assessing the prevalence of ED in ESRD individuals. (PROSPERO ID: CRD42020182680). Records were identified by search in MEDLINE, Scopus, and CENTRAL databases and sources of gray literature until July 2020. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of proportions (double arcsine transformation).

Outcomes: We included 94 studies with 110 patient group entries and a total of 10,320 ESRD male individuals with a mean age of 48.8 ± 14.25 years.

Results: Overall, 7,253 patients experienced ED. We estimated an overall pooled ED prevalence of 71% (95% CI: 67-74%, I = 92%). In the subgroup analyses, the pooled prevalence was 59% (95% CI: 53-64%, I = 92%) among renal transplant recipients, 79% (95% CI: 75-82%, I = 86%) in patients on hemodialysis, 71% (95% CI: 58-83%, I = 86%) in patients on peritoneal dialysis, and 82% (95% CI: 75-88%, I = 0%) in patients with ESRD starting dialysis. The prevalence of the severity of ED was also estimated. Further assessment of heterogeneity was conducted via sensitivity analysis, cumulative meta-analysis, and meta-regression of significant risk factors.

Clinical Translation: Despite its high prevalence in patients with ESRD, ED constitutes an underestimated and taboo subject in this group. Therefore, arousing clinical concern among healthcare providers involved in ESRD management is more than necessary to screen and treat ED in patients receiving renal replacement therapy.

Strengths & Limitations: We estimated ED solely for ESRD, included the largest number of patients compared with previous studies and estimated ED prevalence as per severity and renal replacement therapy subgroups. Contrary, because we restricted our eligibility criteria to the International Index of Erectile Function, some studies assessing ED prevalence with other validated tools were not included in this meta-analysis. Moreover, the levels of heterogeneity among studies remained high after sensitivity and meta-regression analyses, and for some moderators, the results of the meta-regression might have been underpowered.

Conclusions: ED is highly prevalent in patients with ESRD irrespective of the type of renal replacement therapy, thereby warranting clinical attention. Pyrgidis N, Mykoniatis I, Nigdelis MP, et al. Prevalence of Erectile Dysfunction in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Sex Med 2021;18:113-120.