14 DAY TRIAL // A research team from the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Massachusetts, draws attention that erectile dysfunction may be an early sign of future heart disease. Even if usually overweight men are considered to be more likely to develop heart disease later in life, scientists showed in their recent report that slim men that have erectile disorders may come to suffer from heart disorders.
Erectile dysfunction brings about metabolic disease, which in turn may lead to heart disease or diabetes. The symptoms of metabolic syndrome are much diversified and may consist in storage of fat layers on the belly, high blood pressure and high fat levels in the blood etc, which eventually may bring about severe conditions such as heart disorders or diabetes.
Researchers analyzed medical data of 928 men who have been watched for a 15 year period. When the study began none of the men suffered from metabolic syndrome. However, 56% of them presented erectile disorders. 293 of the participants in the study developed metabolic syndrome throughout the 15 year period.
The most important finding of the study relates to the fact that body weight affects the link between erectile problems and metabolic syndrome. Namely, bodyweight is the mediator between erection and metabolic disorders. Even if most of us would be tempted to think that the incidence of metabolic syndrome rises with the body weight, the study showed that things are the other way around.
Slimmer men in the study were found more likely to develop metabolic system as compared to those who were overweight. Results showed that no association between erectile dysfunction and metabolic syndrome was present in men with a body mass index over 25 (the maximum limit for normal weight). On the other hand, men whose body index was lower than 25 and suffered from erectile dysfunctions were twice as likely to become heart sufferers later in life.
Researchers noted that the link between erectile problems and metabolic syndrome can be very helpful in preventing severe heart disease and diabetes in men. "This finding suggests that erectile dysfunction may provide a warning sign and an opportunity for early intervention in men otherwise considered at lower risk for the metabolic syndrome and subsequent cardiovascular disease," the team explained.