Significance of detailed hematological parameters as markers of arteriogenic erectile dysfunction

BACKGROUND: Several hematologic parameters have been shown to be strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, yet few studies were conducted to assess their relationship with atherogenic erectile dysfunction. OBJECTIVES: To find out the differences in hematological parameters between patients with atherogenic erectile dysfunction and healthy controls through as comprehensive a hematological examination as possible and try to assess and predict atherogenic erectile dysfunction using possible indicators. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected hematological parameters in detail from 105 healthy controls and 183 patients with erectile dysfunction (119 patients with atherogenic erectile dysfunction patients and 64 patients with venous erectile dysfunction) who were selected by nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity and color duplex doppler ultrasound. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found between the atherogenic erectile dysfunction and venous erectile dysfunction groups in platelet to lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, and mean platelet volume (all p < 0.01). When comparing atherogenic erectile dysfunction with the healthy population, we found statistically significant differences between the two groups in white blood cell, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, mean platelet volume, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, mean platelet volume, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, p < 0.01; white blood cell, p = 0.024; non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, p = 0.036). Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis showed that neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio had the highest diagnostic value (neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio: area under the curve = 0.810, p < 0.001, cut-off = 1.995; platelet to lymphocyte ratio: area under the curve = 0.782, p < 0.001, cut-off = 126.3). CONCLUSION: Several hematological parameters (white blood cell, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, mean platelet volume, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) can be considered markers of atherogenic erectile dysfunction, while these parameters were not significantly different in venous erectile dysfunction compared to healthy subjects. This suggests that hematological examinations may be a convenient and effective method to help evaluate and diagnose atherogenic erectile dysfunction.