Prevalence of erectile dysfunction and its associated risk factors among Chinese males with diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis

Abstract Epidemiological statistics showed that the proportion of erectile dysfunction in diabetic men was significantly higher than that in non diabetic men. In recent years, some studies have reported the prevalence of ED among people with diabetes in China, however, most of these studies are limited to certain area, small sample size, or specific age period. Therefore, it is particularly important to obtain national prevalence and related factors, which can help to improve health awareness and formulate appropriate public health policies. We searched China national knowledge internet (CNKI), Wanfang database, Pubmed, and Embase database until November 11, 2022. Pooled prevalence estimates are presented visually using forest plots. For analysis of relevant risk factors, the fixed-effect model was used to combine these ORs to obtain an overall OR when there was no significant heterogeneity between studies. Otherwise, the random effects model was applied. Finally, we found that the overall prevalence of ED among Chinese males with DM was 67.2% (95% CI: 62.0-72.4%). Sensitivity analysis indicated that there was no significant variation in pooled prevalence by excluding any of the study, confirming the stability of present results. In the present meta-analysis, we also evaluated the risk factors of ED among Chinese males with DM. We found that patients’ age (OR=1.06, 95% CI [1.03-1.10]) and DM duration (OR=1.32, 95% CI [1.18-1.47]) significantly affected the risk of ED among Chinese males with DM. In conclusions, the present meta-analysis has shown an alarmingly high prevalence of ED among Chinese males with DM. Patients’ age, and the duration of DM were significantly associated with ED risk. Therefore, it is essential to inform policy and practice to reduce the current and future burden of ED among Chinese males with DM.