Men With Gout Also Struggle With Erectile Dysfunction

Men with gout are recommended to get checked for erectile dysfunction and coronary artery problems. Most of the men who suffer from gout also fight with erectile dysfunction (ED), which is frequently at a serious level, a new study presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014) reveals.

In a recent survey, about three quarters of men with gout also had erectile dysfunction, which is when a man cannot get or keep an erection.

A survey made on 201 men, aged 18 to 89 years, who presented at a rheumatology clinic between August 2010 and May 2013. Of these men, 83 had gout and 118 did not.

Gout involves recurrent episodes of acute inflammatory arthritis that results from deposits of needle-like uric acid in joints. It can be very painful.

The men in this study gave their health history, had a physical exam and had some laboratory testing. The men were also asked to complete the sexual health inventory, which rates erectile dysfunction in five categories, from absent to severe.

Of the men with gout, 76 percent had erectile dysfunction, compared with 52 percent of the men without gout. Again men with gout were more likely to define their erectile dysfunction as severe (43 percent) compared to the men without gout who had erectile dysfunction, of which only 30 percent rated it as severe.

More men with tophaceous gout (a type of chronic gout where hard masses of uric acid crystals are deposited in the body) had erectile dysfunction than men with other kinds of gout, the researchers found.

The researchers recommended that men with gout be screened for erectile dysfunction.