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A bone to pick with vitamin D deficiency and erectile dysfunction

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 32, pages 248–250 (2020)Cite this article

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Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among men and women of all ages throughout the world. Vitamin D’s role in health extends well beyond its effects on calcium homeostasis, as deficiency has been associated with cancer, infections, neurodegenerative conditions, inflammatory states, disorders of glucose regulation, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as stroke, myocardial infarction, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension [1, 2]. Recently, investigators have suggested CVD could link vitamin D deficiency to erectile dysfunction (ED) [3]. Indeed, Krysiak et al. reported on the relationship in “The effect of low vitamin D status on sexual functioning and depressive symptoms in apparently healthy men: a pilot study.”[4]

Vitamin D’s effects on the cardiovascular system were believed to be mediated primarily through the renin-angiotensin system. Recently, however, vitamin D has been shown to induce endothelial cell expression of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, resulting in increased production of the vasodilator, NO [5]. Likewise, absence of the vitamin D receptor impairs vascular relaxation and increases vascular stiffness [5]. Given the fundamental role of NO-induced vasodilation in erectile function, these data create a plausible physiologic mechanism linking vitamin D deficiency to ED.

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Funding

Funding

JSG is supported in part by NIH K12 DK083014 Multidisciplinary K12 Urologic Research Career Development Program (to Dolores J. Lamb).

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  1. University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, USA

    Levi Charles Holland

  2. Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Joseph Scott Gabrielsen

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Correspondence to Joseph Scott Gabrielsen.

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Holland, L.C., Gabrielsen, J.S. A bone to pick with vitamin D deficiency and erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 32, 248–250 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-018-0100-0

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