Hyperthyroidism and erectile dysfunction: a population-based case-control study

Dysthyroidism has been highlighted as a common endocrine disorder associated with erectile dysfunction (ED); however, to date, no large-scale population-based study has investigated the association between hyperthyroidism and ED. This case-control study aimed to explore the association between ED and hyperthyroidism using a population-based data set. In total, 6310 adult patients who received new diagnoses of ED were recruited as cases together with 18 930 matched enrollees with no history of ED who served as controls. Conditional logistic regressions were conducted to explore the association between ED and having been previously diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. In total, 569 (2.3%) of the 25 240 sampled subjects had been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism before the index date; hyperthyroidism was found in 207 (3.3%) cases and 362 (1.90%) controls. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the odds ratio (OR) of prior hyperthyroidism among cases was 1.64 (95% confidence interval = 1.37-1.96, P<0.001) than that of controls. No association was detected between prior hyperthyroidism and ED for the 18-30, 30-39 and >= 70 age groups. Subjects aged between 60 and 69 years had the highest ORs for prior hyperthyroidism among cases when compared to controls (OR = 1.84; 95% confidence interval = 1.20-2.84; P<0.001). Our study further confirms the existence of an association between ED and prior hyperthyroidism.