Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Feb 17;16(1):12.
doi: 10.1186/s12940-017-0216-6.

Erectile dysfunction and exposure to ambient Air pollution in a nationally representative cohort of older Men

Lindsay A Tallon  1   2 , Justin Manjourides  1 , Vivian C Pun  1 , Murray A Mittleman  3 , Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou  4 , Brent Coull  5 , Helen Suh  6
Affiliations

Erectile dysfunction and exposure to ambient Air pollution in a nationally representative cohort of older Men

Lindsay A Tallon et al. Environ Health. .

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the association between air pollution and erectile dysfunction (ED), a disorder occurring in 64% of men over the age of 70, and to date, no studies have been published. To address this significant knowledge gap, we explored the relationship between ED and air pollution in a group of older men who were part of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a nationally representative cohort study of older Americans.

Methods: We obtained incident ED status and participant data for 412 men (age 57-85). Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures were estimated using spatio-temporal models based on participants' geocoded addresses, while nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations were estimated using nearest measurements from the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality System. The association between air pollution and incident ED (newly developed in Wave 2) was examined and logistic regression models were run with adjusted models controlling for race, education, season, smoking, obesity, diabetes, depression, and median household income of census tract.

Results: We found positive, although statistically insignificant, associations between PM2.5, NO2, and O3 exposures and odds of incident ED for each of our examined exposure windows, including 1 to 7 year moving averages. Odds ratios (OR) for 1 and 7 year moving averages equaled 1.16 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.55) and 1.16 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.46), respectively, for an IQR increase in PM2.5 exposures. Observed associations were robust to model specifications and were not significantly modified by any of the examined risk factors for ED.

Conclusions: We found associations between PM2.5, NO2, and O3 exposures and odds of developing ED that did not reach nominal statistical significance, although exposures to each pollutant were consistently associated with higher odds of developing ED. While more research is needed, our findings suggest a relationship between air pollutant exposure and incident cases of ED, a common condition in older men.

Keywords: Erectile dysfunction; Men; PM2.5; Vasculature.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. National Institutes of Health: NIH Consensus Conference Impotence. NIH consensus development panel on impotence. JAMA. 1993;270(1):83–90. doi: 10.1001/jama.1993.03510010089036. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Feldman HA, Goldstein I, Hatzichristou DG, Krane RJ, McKinlay JB. Impotence and its medical and psychosocial correlates: results of the Massachusetts male aging study. J Urol. 1994;151(1):54–61. - PubMed
    1. Johannes CB, Araujo AB, Feldman HA, Derby CA, Kleinman KP, McKINLAY JB. Incidence of erectile dysfunction in men 40 to 69 years old: longitudinal results from the Massachusetts male aging study. J Urol. 2000;163(2):460–463. doi: 10.1016/S0022-5347(05)67900-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aytac I, McKinlay J, Krane R. The likely worldwide increase in erectile dysfunction between 1995 and 2025 and some possible policy consequences. BJU Int. 1999;84:50–56. doi: 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.00142.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hockenberry MS, Masson P. Erectile dysfunction in the elderly. Curr Geriatr Rep. 2015;4(1):33–43. doi: 10.1007/s13670-014-0107-4. - DOI

Publication types