Should information about sexual health be included in education directed toward men with cardiovascular diseases?

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the study group.

Variables	Study group; N (%)
Number of subjects	417
Age	61.10 ± 9.15
Residential location
Rural area	107 (26.10%)
City <10,000	46 (11.22%)
City >10,000 & <50,000	66 (16.10%)
City >50,000	191 (46.59%)
Education
University	78 (18.75%)
Secondary	163 (39.18%)
Vocational	144 (34.62%)
Primary	31 (7.45%)
Family and marital status
Married	377 (90.63%)
In a relationship	39 (9.37%)
Monthly income per capita^a
<34.7%	101 (24.82%)
>34.7% & <69.41%	205 (50.37%)
>69.41% & <104.12%	75 (18.43%)
>104.12%	26 (6.39%)
Clinical data
Erectile dysfunction (IIEF-5)	417 (100%)
Severe (5–7 p)	93 (22.30%)
Moderate to severe (8–11 p)	63 (15.11%)
Moderate (12–16 p)	131 (31.42%)
Mild (17–21 p)	130 (31.18%)
Hypertension	286 (68.59%)
Type II diabetes	121 (29.02%)
Dyslipidemia	257 (61.78%)
Smoking	315 (75.54%)
Number of pack-years of smoking	39.07 ± 23.60
Age at start of smoking	19.3 ± 5.38
BMI (kg/m^2)	28.07 ± 3.71
Waist circumference	97.86 ± 9.65
Overweight (25 ≤ BMI ≤29.9 kg/m^2)	210 (50.48%)
Obese (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m^2)	124 (29.81%)
Sedentary lifestyle (<1000 kcal/week)	385 (92.33%)
Average LTPA (kcal/week)	458.42 ± 449.75
LVEDD (mm)	54.86 ± 7.29
LA (mm)	41.88 ± 5.93
EF (%)	52.91 ± 9.43
Effort tolerance (METs)	7.15 ± 2.23
Myocardial infarction	293 (70.26%)
PTCA	189 (45.54%)
CABG	146 (35.18%)
PTCA and CABG	52 (12.53%)
Non-invasive treatment	28 (6.75%)
Beta blockers	378 (94.74%)
Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors	289 (72.43%)
Angiotensin II receptor antagonists	44 (11.03%)
Statins	376 (94.24%)
Calcium antagonists	74 (18.55%)
Diuretics	154 (38.69%)
Alpha blockers	19 (4.76%)

BMI: body mass index; CABG: coronary artery bypass graft; EF: ejection fraction; LA: left atrial diameter; LTPA: leisure-time physical activity; LVEDD: left ventricular end-diastolic diameter; N: number of subjects; PTCA: percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

^a The percentage of average net salary in the industry in August 2015.

Table 2. Number and percentage of patients knowing risk factors that contribute to pathogenesis of CVD and ED.

Risk factor	CVD	ED	p
Smoking	299 (71.70%)	187 (44.84%)	<.0001
Hypertension	296 (70.98%)	112 (26.86%)	<.0001
Overweight and obese	287 (68.82%)	146 (35.01%)	<.0001
Low intensity of LTPA	253 (60.67%)	97 (23.26%)	<.0001
Diabetes	228 (54.68%)	172 (41.25%)	<.0001
Dyslipidemia	186 (44.60%)	119 (28.54%)	<.0001

CVD: cardiovascular disease; ED: erectile dysfunction; LTPA: leisure-time physical activity; p: probability.

Figure 1. Number and percentage of respondents knowing the number of risk factors, from zero to six.

Table 3. Impact of demographic and clinical factors on the knowledge of the number of risk factors for CVD and ED.

Variable	CVD	ED
Age	R = −0.1469 (p < .0027)	NS
Education	R = 0.2440 (p < .0001)	R = 0.4333 (p < .0001)
Economic status	R = 0.1818 (p < .0002)	R = 0.1738 (p < .0004)
Hypertension^a	3.94 ± 0.77 vs. 3.21 ± 1.99 (p < .0004)	2.20 ± 2.00 vs. 1.56 ± 1.75 (p < .0025)
Diabetes^a	4.02 ± 1.74 vs. 3.59 ± 1.92 (p < .0414)	2.46 ± 2.13 vs. 1.81 ± 1.83 (p < .0044)
Dyslipidemia^a	3.87 ± 1.85 vs. 3.47 ± 1.89 (p < .0312)	2.21 ± 1.95 vs. 1.65 ± 1.90 (p < .0017)
Number of pack-years of smoking	R = −0.1309 (p < .0371)	NS
Sedentary lifestyle^a	3.76 ± 1.85 vs. 3.09 ± 1.99 (p < .0069)	NS
BMI ≥25.0 kg/m^2	R = 0.1629 (p < .0009)	NS
IIEF-5 score	R = 0.1192 (p < .0150)	NS
Weekly energy cost of LTPA	NS	R = 0.0997 (p < .0418)
LVEDD (mm)	NS	R = −0.1111 (p < .0317)
Effort tolerance MET	NS	R = 0.1080 (p < .0360)

BMI: body mass index; CVD: cardiovascular disease; ED: erectile dysfunction; IIEF-5: International Index of Erectile Function 5; LTPA: leisure-time physical activity; LVEDD: left ventricular end-diastolic diameter; MET: metabolic equivalents; NS: insignificant; p: probability.

^a Comparison between patients reporting a given risk factor and those not.

Table 4. The number and percentage of patients reporting analyzed risk factors who had and did not have knowledge about the contribution of those risk factors to the pathogenesis of CVD and ED.

		Having knowledgeabout risk factor	Lack of knowledgeabout risk factor	p
		N (%)	N (%)
HT	CVD	229 (80.07%)	57 (19.93%)	<.0000
	ED	93 (32.5%)	193 (67.5%)	<.0002
p		<.0000
DL	CVD	136 (52.92%)	121 (47.08%)	<.0000
	ED	84 (32.68%)	173 (67.32%)	<.0258
p		<.0000
DM	CVD	98 (80.99%)	23 (19.01%)	<.0000
	ED	72 (59.50%)	49 (40.5%)	<.0000
p		<.0005
SMO	CVD	237 (75.24%)	78 (24.76%)	<.0071
	ED	150 (47.62%)	165 (52.38%)	NS
p		<.0000
BMI	CVD	243 (72.54%)	92 (27.46%)	<.0011
	ED	124 (37.01%)	211 (62.99%)	NS
p		<.0000
LTPA	CVD	235 (61.20%)	149 (38.80%)	NS
	ED	90 (23.44%)	295 (76.56%)	NS
p		<.0000

BMI: body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m²; CVD: cardiovascular disease; DL: dyslipidemia; DM: diabetes: ED: erectile dysfunction; HT: hypertension; LTPA: leisure-time physical activity <1000 kcal/week; SMO: smoking; NS: insignificant; p: probability.