Sexual health in Polish elderly men with coronary artery disease: importance, expectations, and reality

Abstract

Deterioration in overall health, hormonal disturbances, and erectile dysfunction (ED) contributes to limitations in sexual activity in the elderly, which is further limited by incorrect beliefs about the hazards of sexual activity in cardiac patients. We aimed to analyze the occurrence of ED in elderly men, their perception of the relevance of good sexual function, and their expectations of physicians. A cross-sectional study encompassed 731 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) subjected to cardiac rehabilitation. Demographic data and data on modifiable risk factors and patient expectations were collected. ED was assessed using the IIEF-5 questionnaire. Relationships among the risk factors for ED, occurrence of ED, and patient expectations, as well as the changes in the indicators between 2012 and 2016, were analyzed. The mean age of men was 70.7 ± 5.1 years. The prevalence of ED was 93.0%. The IIEF-5 score was significantly associated with age, tobacco smoking, exercise tolerance, time to diagnosis of CAD, and treatment with calcium channel blockers and diuretics. Patients declared that sexual activity was overall important (47.9%) or very important (25.6%). Three hundred and sixty (49.3%) patients expected their physician to show interest in their sexual health, but the topic was addressed in only 12.5%. Over the past few years, we have observed an increase in the awareness and importance of sexual health as well as a significant increase in patients' expectations of physicians to show interest in their sexual health. Patients' expectations of discussing and receiving treatment for ED remain an unmet medical need.

Global prevalence of sexual dysfunction in cardiovascular patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Among the included studies, the research conducted by Herut et al [ 41 ] reported the largest sample size with 19,131 participants, while the study by Schwarz et al [ 42 ] had the smallest sample size of 100 participants. The highest quality score based on the JBI checklist belonged to the studies conducted by Rinkūnienė et al [ 23 ], Rusiecki et al [ 43 ], Fafiolu et al [ 44 ], Mulat et al [ 45 ], and Schwarz et al [ 42 ]. The characteristics of the studies included in the systematic review and meta-analysis are provided in Table 1 .…”

Improvement in Sexual Dysfunction in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Undergoing Septal Myectomy

“…The standard deviation of the change used in the power calculation was 8.5 points as estimated from review of prior studies. 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 Hence, a 4-point change in score is slightly less than one-half of a standard deviation, or an effect size of 0.47. With the same effect size assessed in females as well, the calculated sample size needed was 50 participants per sex.…”