A Comparative Analysis of The Association Between Remnant Cholesterol and Erectile Dysfunction

Considering that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and erectile dysfunction (ED) have many common risk factors and pathophysiology, we aimed to determine whether remnant cholesterol (RC) is associated with ED. Patients who were diagnosed with ED and examined with any other andrological complaints between January 2022 and December 2023 in our outpatient clinic were retrospectively reviewed. The erectile function of the participants was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) form. Fasting blood glucose (FBS), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total testosterone, body mass index (BMI) and RC were calculated and recorded. Patients were categorized as having ED (Group 1) and not having ED (Group 2) according to the erectile function score of the IIEF-15 questionnaire. The mean age of the participants included in the study was 46.93±12.29 years. There were 160 (58.6%) patients in Group 1 and 113 (41.4%) patients in Group 2. Age, BMI, FBS and HbA1c levels were significantly higher in Group 1 (p=0.001; p=0.013; p=0.009; p=0.001, respectively). HDL cholesterol level was significantly lower in Group 1 (p=0.008). The mean RC level was 35.7±21.3 mg/dL in Group 1 and 31.8±19.4 mg/dL in Group 2 and was comparable between the two groups (p=0.123). In our study, although the RC level was found to be higher in the ED group, it did not reach a statistically significant level. Further prospective studies with larger sample size are needed.