Photo Credit: Md Saiful Islam Khan

The following is a summary of “Relationship between complete blood cell count-derived inflammatory biomarkers and erectile dysfunction in the United States,” published in the December 2024 issue of Urology by Zhang et al. 

Erectile dysfunction (ED) significantly impacts men’s quality of life (QoL). Inflammatory markers, such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), are linked to ED, but their correlation with survival outcomes remains unclear. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to explore the relationship between inflammatory biomarkers and ED.  

They extracted data on ED from the 2001–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and ascertained mortality events through the National Death Index up to December 2019. They assessed complete blood cell count (CBC)-derived inflammatory indicators, including NLR, derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(dNLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), neutrophil-monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (NMLR), SIRI, and SII, using random survival forests (RSF) analysis. The study involved 3,639 participants, with 1,031 diagnosed with ED. 

The results showed that elevated levels of NLR (OR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.00–1.19, P = 0.021), MLR (OR = 2.97, 95% CI 1.18–7.50, P = 0.01), NMLR (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.11, P = 0.006), and SIRI (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.01–1.22, P = 0.017) were linked to increased ED prevalence. Among participants of ED, those in the highest quartile of NLR (HR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.00–1.11, P = 0.032), MLR (HR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.33–3.01, P < 0.001), NMLR (HR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.01–1.11, P = 0.024), and SII (HR = 1.00, 95% CI 1.00–1.00, P = 0.015) had a higher risk of all-cause mortality. 

Investigators found that MLR had the highest predictive power for ED prevalence and all-cause mortality, outperforming other CBC-derived inflammatory markers. 

Source: nature.com/articles/s41598-024-83733-5