Vitamin D Status in Renal Transplant recipients is not Associated with Erectile Dysfunction

Abstract

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a highly prevalent disorder among renal transplant recipients. Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has been associated with several ED risk factors but only recently directly linked to ED. We conducted a study to investigate whether vitamin D serum levels were associated with the presence and severity of ED in 40 male patients that underwent deceased donor kidney transplantation (TX) from 2001 to 2013. Blood samples were collected on two seasonally distinct occasions and 25(OH)D concentration was assessed by radioimmunoassay. A 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) was used for ED evaluation and group stratification. We found comparable rates of ED (75%) and VDD (42.5%-62.5%) as in previously published studies. Serum levels of 25(OH)D did not differ between patients with and those without ED on both measurements (p=0.656 and p=0.914, respectively), or when comparing different ED severity groups. Duration of renal replacement therapy before TX and graft duration until analysis were longer in patients with ED (p=0.022 and p=0.05, respectively), but with the results being nonsignificant on logistic regression. In conclusion, we found no association of 25(OH)D concentration with the presence and severity of ED in renal transplant recipients. So far, there are no similar published data.

Keywords

• Vitamin D deficiency
• Erectile dysfunction
• Endothelium, vascular
• Renal insufficiency, chronic
• Kidney transplantation
• Croatia