Does vitamin D deficiency contribute to erectile dysfunction?

Figures & data

Table 1. Evidence for influences of vitamin D on nonvascular diseases and conditions associated with ED

Disease or condition	Finding (some measure of correlation)	Reference	Evidence for vitamin D deficiency
Alzheimer disease	Loss of erection was reported in 53% of 55 male Alzheimer disease patients with a mean age of 70.25 y. Loss of erection is not related to degree of cognitive impairment, age, or depression.	118	119
Asthma	Subjects with asthma experienced a 1.9-fold (95% CI, 1.3–2.9; p = 0.002) increase in incident ED.	120	121
Chronic kidney disease	Prevalence of ED of various degrees was 87.7% among 73 patients with chronic kidney disease in Iran.	122	123,124
Depression	Comorbid conditions ED and depression are highly prevalent in men, and men with high depression scores are nearly twice as likely to report ED than nondepressed men.	125	126
Falls, fractures	ED (2.01; 95% CI, 1.30–3.09) was associated with increased risk of osteoporotic fractures in adjusted models.	127	128
Metabolic syndrome	Metabolic syndrome appears to be strongly related to ED.	129	130
Multiple sclerosis	91% of men with multiple sclerosis report having symptoms of either ED or impotence.	131,132	133,134
Obesity	Obesity in Taiwanese military conscripts predicted more than an 83-times-increased risk of ED.	135	136
Parkinson disease	ED was severe in 54% of Parkinson cases and moderate in 26.6%.	137	138
Periodontal disease	Chronic periodontal disease was significantly more prevalent among men with mild ED (p = 0.004) and moderate to severe ED (p = 0.007) than in men without ED.	139	140
Psoriasis	Patients with ED were more likely to have been diagnosed with psoriasis before the index date than controls (odds ratio = 3.85; 95% CI l = 2.72–5.44)	141	142
Smoking	In comparison with never smokers, the OR of ED was 2.41 for current smokers and 2.15 for ex-smokers and increased with duration of the habit.	143	144
Atopic dermatitis	cases were more likely to have prior AD than controls (OR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.42–1.80, p < 0.001) after multifactorial adjustment	145	146

Zeiss AM, Davies HD, Wood M, Tinklenberg JR. The incidence and correlates of erectile problems in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Arch Sex Behav 1990; 19:325 - 31; http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01541927; PMID: 2400296

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Grant WB. Does vitamin D reduce the risk of dementia?. J Alzheimers Dis 2009; 17:151 - 9; PMID: 19494440

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Chou KT, Huang CC, Chen YM, Perng DW, Chao HS, Chan WL, et al. Asthma and risk of erectile dysfunction--a nationwide population-based study. J Sex Med 2011; 8:1754 - 60; http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02242.x; PMID: 21426497

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Bozzetto S, Carraro S, Giordano G, Boner A, Baraldi E. Asthma, allergy and respiratory infections: the vitamin D hypothesis. Allergy 2012; 67:10 - 7; http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2011.02711.x; PMID: 21933195

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Malekmakan L, Shakeri S, Haghpanah S, Pakfetrat M, Sarvestani AS, Malekmakan A. Epidemiology of erectile dysfunction in hemodialysis patients using IIEF questionnaire. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2011; 22:232 - 6; PMID: 21422619

 PubMedGoogle Scholar

Kim HS, Chung W, Kim S. Vitamin d, and kidney disease. Electrolyte Blood Press 2011; 9:1 - 6; http://dx.doi.org/10.5049/EBP.2011.9.1.1; PMID: 21998600

 PubMedGoogle Scholar

Pilz S, Iodice S, Zittermann A, Grant WB, Gandini S. Vitamin D status and mortality risk in CKD: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Am J Kidney Dis 2011; 58:374 - 82; PMID: 21636193

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Perelman MA. Erectile dysfunction and depression: screening and treatment. Urol Clin North Am 2011; 38:125 - 39; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ucl.2011.03.004; PMID: 21621079

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Hoang MT, Defina LF, Willis BL, Leonard DS, Weiner MF, Brown ES. Association between low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and depression in a large sample of healthy adults: the Cooper Center longitudinal study. Mayo Clin Proc 2011; 86:1050 - 5; http://dx.doi.org/10.4065/mcp.2011.0208; PMID: 22033249

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Frost M, Abrahamsen B, Masud T, Brixen K. Risk factors for fracture in elderly men: a population-based prospective study. Osteoporos Int 2012; 23:521 - 31; http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00198-011-1575-4; PMID: 21409435

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Willett WC, Wong JB, Giovannucci E, Dietrich T, Dawson-Hughes B. Fracture prevention with vitamin D supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. JAMA 2005; 293:2257 - 64; http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.18.2257; PMID: 15886381

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Lee RK, Chughtai B, Te AE, Kaplan SA. Sexual function in men with metabolic syndrome. Urol Clin North Am 2012; 39:53 - 62; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ucl.2011.09.008; PMID: 22118345

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Al-Daghri NM, Alkharfy KM, Al-Saleh Y, Al-Attas OS, Alokail MS, Al-Othman A, et al. Modest reversal of metabolic syndrome manifestations with vitamin D status correction: a 12-month prospective study. Metabolism 2011; In press http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2011.09.017; PMID: 22075268

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Severson B. Sexual Dysfunction and Multiple Sclerosis. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence. 2010. Available at http://www.va.gov/MS/articles/Sexual_Dysfunction_and_Multiple_Sclerosis.asp. Accessed Dec 27, 2011.

 Google Scholar

Boston Medical Group Online. Multiple Sclerosis and Erectile dysfunction. http://www.multiplesclerosiserectiledysfunction.com/ Accessed December 27, 2011.

 Google Scholar

Munger KL, Zhang SM, O’Reilly E, Herńn MA, Olek MJ, Willett WC, et al. Vitamin D intake and incidence of multiple sclerosis. Neurology 2004; 62:60 - 5; PMID: 14718698

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Mirzaei F, Michels KB, Munger K, O’Reilly E, Chitnis T, Forman MR, et al. Gestational vitamin D and the risk of multiple sclerosis in offspring. Ann Neurol 2011; 70:30 - 40; http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ana.22456; PMID: 21786297

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Chao JK, Hwang TI, Ma MC, Kuo WH, Liu JH, Chen YP, et al. A survey of obesity and erectile dysfunction of men conscripted into the military in Taiwan. J Sex Med 2011; 8:1156 - 63; http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02181.x; PMID: 21269394

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Earthman CP, Beckman LM, Masodkar K, Sibley SD. The link between obesity and low circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations: considerations and implications. Int J Obes (Lond) 2012; 36:387 - 96; http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2011.119; PMID: 21694701

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Roumiguié M, Guillotreau J, Castel-Lacanal E, Malavaud B, De Boissezon X, Marque P, et al. [Assessment of sexual function in men with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease using the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction (IIEF-15)]. Prog Urol 2011; 21:67 - 71; PMID: 21193148

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Evatt ML, DeLong MR, Kumari M, Auinger P, McDermott MP, Tangpricha V, Parkinson Study Group DATATOP Investigators. High prevalence of hypovitaminosis D status in patients with early Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol 2011; 68:314 - 9; http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2011.30; PMID: 21403017

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Zadik Y, Bechor R, Galor S, Justo D, Heruti RJ. Erectile dysfunction might be associated with chronic periodontal disease: two ends of the cardiovascular spectrum. J Sex Med 2009; 6:1111 - 6; http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01141.x; PMID: 19170861

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Grant WB, Boucher BJ. Are Hill’s criteria for causality satisfied for vitamin D and periodontal disease?. Dermatoendocrinol 2010; 2:30 - 6; http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/derm.2.1.12488; PMID: 21547146

 PubMedGoogle Scholar

Chung SD, Keller JJ, Chu TW, Lin HC. Psoriasis and the risk of erectile dysfunction: a population-based case-control study. J Sex Med 2012; 9:130 - 5; http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02510.x; PMID: 22023713

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Rácz E, Prens EP, Kurek D, Kant M, de Ridder D, Mourits S, et al. Effective treatment of psoriasis with narrow-band UVB phototherapy is linked to suppression of the IFN and Th17 pathways. J Invest Dermatol 2011; 131:1547 - 58; http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/jid.2011.53; PMID: 21412260

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Safarinejad MR. Prevalence and risk factors for erectile dysfunction in a population-based study in Iran. Int J Impot Res 2003; 15:246 - 52; http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3901024; PMID: 12934051

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Brot C, Jorgensen NR, Sorensen OH. The influence of smoking on vitamin D status and calcium metabolism. Eur J Clin Nutr 1999; 53:920 - 6; http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600870; PMID: 10602348

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Chung SD, Keller JJ, Lin HC. Association of erectile dysfunction with atopic dermatitis: a population-based case-control study. J Sex Med 2012; 9:679 - 85; http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02587.x; PMID: 22240253

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Amestejani M, Salehi BS, Vasigh M, Sobhkhiz A, Karami M, Alinia H, et al. Vitamin d supplementation in the treatment of atopic dermatitis: a clinical trial study. J Drugs Dermatol 2012; 11:327 - 30; PMID: 22395583

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar