Focus
Sexual dysfunction and chronic kidney disease
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010 Jun;5(6):985-95
Am J Kidney Dis. 2010 Oct;56(4):670-85
Treatment Options for Sexual Dysfunction in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Vecchio M, Navaneethan SD, Johnson DW, Lucisano G, Graziano G, Querques M, Saglimbene V, Ruospo M, Bonifati C, Jannini EA, Strippoli GF.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010 Jun;5(6):985-95
Background and objectives: Sexual dysfunction is very common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but treatment options are limited. The benefits and harms of existing interventions for treatment of sexual dysfunction were assessed in patients with CKD.
Design, setting, participants, & measurements: MEDLINE (1966 to December 2008), EMBASE (1980 to December 2008), and the Cochrane Trial Registry (Issue 4 2008) were searched for parallel and crossover randomized and quasi-randomized trials. Treatment effects were summarized as mean differences (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a random effects model.
Results: Fourteen trials (328 patients) were included. Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i) compared with placebo significantly increased the overall International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) score (three trials, 101 patients, MD 1.81, 95% CI 1.51 to 2.10), all of its individual domains, and the complete 15-item IIEF-5 (two trials, 80 patients, MD 10.64, 95% CI 5.32 to 15.96). End-of-treatment testosterone levels were not significantly increased by addition of zinc to dialysate (two trials, 22 patients, SMD 0.19 ng/dl, 95% CI −2.12 to 2.50), but oral zinc improved end-of-treatment testosterone levels. There was no difference in plasma luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormone level at the end of the study period with zinc therapy.
Conclusions: PDE5i and zinc are promising interventions for treating sexual dysfunction in CKD. Evidence supporting their routine use in CKD patients is limited. There is an unmet need for studying interventions for male and female sexual dysfunction in CKD considering the significant disease burden.
Prevalence and Correlates of Self-Reported Sexual Dysfunction in CKD: A Meta-analysis of Observational Studies
Navaneethan SD, Vecchio M, Johnson DW, Saglimbene V, Graziano G, Pellegrini F, Lucisano G, Craig JC, Ruospo M, Gentile G, Manfreda VM, Querques M, Stroumza P, Torok M, Celia E, Gelfman R, Ferrari JN, Bednarek-Skublewska A, Dulawa J, Bonifati C, Hegbrant J, Wollheim C, Jannini EA, Strippoli GF.
Am J Kidney Dis. 2010 Oct;56(4):670-85
Background: Sexual dysfunction is an under-recognized problem in men and women with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The prevalence, correlates, and predictors of this condition in patients with CKD have not been evaluated comprehensively.
Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Setting & Population: Patients treated using dialysis (dialysis patients), patients treated using transplant (transplant recipients), and patients with CKD not treated using dialysis or transplant (nondialysis nontransplant patients with CKD).
Selection Criteria for Studies: Observational studies conducted in patients with CKD only or including a control group without CKD.
Predictor: Type of study population.
Outcomes: Sexual dysfunction in men and women with CKD using validated tools, such as the International Index of Erectile Function, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), or other measures as reported by study investigators.
Results: 50 studies (8,343 patients) of variable size (range, 16-1,023 patients) were included in this review. Almost all studies explored sexual dysfunction in men and specifically erectile dysfunction. The summary estimate of erectile dysfunction in men with CKD was 70% (95% CI, 62%-77%; 21 studies, 4,389 patients). Differences in reported prevalence rates of erectile dysfunction between different studies were attributable primarily to age, study populations, and type of study tool used to assess the presence of erectile dysfunction. In women, the reported prevalence of sexual dysfunction was assessed in only 306 patients from 2 studies and ranged from 30%-80%. Compared with the general population, women with CKD had a significantly lower overall FSFI score (8 studies or subgroups, 407 patients; mean difference, −9.28; 95% CI, −12.92 to −5.64). Increasing age, diabetes mellitus, and depression consistently were found to correlate with sexual dysfunction in 20 individual studies of patients with CKD using different methods.
Limitations: Suboptimal and lack of uniform assessment of outcome measures.
Conclusions: Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in both men and women with CKD, especially among those on dialysis. Larger studies enrolling different ethnic groups, using validated study tools, and analyzing the influence of various factors on the development of sexual dysfunction are needed.
