Risk of Erectile Dysfunction after Primary Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) has been investigated in very few limited studies. This study aimed to investigate the association between OCD and subsequent ED. Methods: In this population-based retrospective cohort study, we used Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database to analyze patients who were newly diagnosed with OCD between 2000 and 2016, We included 21,656 patients with OCD aged over 18 years old, with a 1:1 ratio by age and index year matched with patients in a non-OCD comparison group, for the risk of ED. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to estimate the association between OCD and subsequent psychogenic ED. Results :After a 7-year follow-up, the incidence rate of psychogenic ED was higher in the OCD patients when compared with the non-OCD control group (3.39 vs.1.49 per 100,000 per person-year). Patients with OCD had a higher risk of developing psychogenic ED than the non-OCD cohort after the adjustment of the confounding factors (adjusted HR = 4.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) [2.06, 7.99], p < .001). This is the first study using a comprehensive nationwide database to analyze the association between psychogenic ED and OCD in Taiwan. After adjusting for the confounding factors, patients with OCD have a significantly higher risk of developing psychogenic ED. Conclusions: Patients with OCD should be encouraged to take sexual history as part of their routine clinical assessment and appropriate preventive mental measures to maintain mental and sexual health.