A male with thalassemia may be at increased risk for erectile dysfunction (ED).
Patient selection: adult male with thalassemia
Outcome: organic erectile dysfunction
Risk factors for organic erectile dysfunction:
(1) non-transfusion dependent thalassemia (NTDT) or thalassemia major
(2) older age (>= 50 years)
(3) presence of one or more comorbidities
Comorbidities:
(1) cirrhosis
(2) chronic kidney disease
(3) COPD
(4) hyperlipidemia
(5) anxiety and/or depression
(6) coronary artery disease
(7) hypertension
(8) anemia
Diabetes was not listed as one of the comorbidities (although mentioned in the Methods section).
In thalassemia major frequent blood transfusion results in iron overload. This can affect the pituitary gland and result in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.
A patient with NTDT may develop iron overload due to increased absorption.
