A case–control study of erectile dysfunction among men diagnosed with panic disorder

The association between panic disorder and erectile dysfunction (ED) among men was examined in the Integrated Healthcare Information Services National Managed Care Benchmark Database (IHCIS). The IHCIS is a fully de-identified, HIPAA compliant database and includes complete medical history for more than 17 million managed care lives; data from more than 30 US health plans, covering seven census regions; and patient demographics, including morbidity, age and gender. A total of 60 949 ED cases and 243 796 controls were included for analysis. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were first performed to assess the crude risk of ED, and adjusted risks of ED that accounted for comorbid conditions and comedications. A second set of analyses measured the crude and adjusted risks after restricting the patient population to men who were diagnosed with panic disorder at least 1 month prior to an ED diagnosis. In the first set of analyses, men with panic disorder were observed to have more than a two-fold increase in risk for ED (OR=2.29, 95% CI=2.03, 2.58). After adjusting for comorbid conditions, a 52% increase in risk of ED was observed (OR=1.52, 95% CI=1.34, 1.72). Following subsequent adjustment for comorbidities and comedications, a 33% increased risk of ED was detected (OR=1.33, 95% CI=1.17, 1.51). In the second set of analyses studying panic disorder that preceded ED, only a 13% higher risk was noted (OR=1.13, 95% CI=0.97, 1.31). However, after adjusting for comorbid conditions, a 25% reduction in risk was observed (OR=0.75, 95% CI=0.64, 0.88). A 35% risk reduction was seen after adjusting for comorbidities and comedications (OR=0.65, 95% CI=0.56, 0.77).