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Relationship between erectile dysfunction and the neutrophil to lymphocyte and platelet to lymphocyte ratios

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 30, pages 27–35 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

The most important cause of erectile dysfunction (ED) among aging men is organic disease due to vascular disturbance that is often caused by atherosclerosis. Recently, studies have shown that atherosclerosis can manifest as an active inflammatory process rather than as passive vascular injury caused by lipid infiltration. Our study aimed to examine the association of ED with the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), both of which are markers of inflammation. Between December 2014 and May 2015, 101 male patients aged 40–70 years who were seen at our institute due to ED were included in this study. Thirty-one sexually active men with similar clinical and demographic characteristics without ED were included in our study as a control group. The control and patient groups were compared with respect to their NLR and PLR values as well as other hormonal, biochemical, hematological parameters. The median ages of the patient and control groups were 49 (40–69) and 48 (43–65) years old, respectively. Comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and coronary artery disease were not significantly different between the groups (p > 0.05). The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the detected CRP levels were also significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (p < 0.001). In the correlation analysis, the NLR, PLR, and CRP levels were negatively correlated with the IIEF-5 scores. A multivariate analysis was performed to determine the independent predictors of ED. PLR was identified as an independent predictor for ED. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and especially platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios are correlated with a diagnosis of ED, and these ratios could serve as practical parameters that will not elicit additional costs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urology Department, University of Medical Sciences Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, Bursa, Turkey

    Murat Sambel, Metin Kilic, Murat Demirbas, Efe Onen, Sedat Oner, Abdullah Erdogan & Mustafa Murat Aydos

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  1. Murat Sambel
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Sambel, M., Kilic, M., Demirbas, M. et al. Relationship between erectile dysfunction and the neutrophil to lymphocyte and platelet to lymphocyte ratios. Int J Impot Res 30, 27–35 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-017-0007-1

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