| Summary: | Background – Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been described as providing a ‘window of curability’ for men at risk of future cardiovascular disease, however there is little evidence on the relationship between erectile dysfunction and modifiable cardiometabolic risk factors. The primary objectives of this thesis were to: 1) determine whether men with ED have a higher risk of having an undiagnosed cardiometabolic risk factor (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes), and 2) determine whether the prescription of a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) for ED leads to an increase in the diagnosis and treatment of these risk factors. Methods – This thesis comprised of two original studies. The first, a cross-sectional analysis using a nationally representative survey from the United States. The second, a population-based empirical study of changes in drug utilization for cardiometabolic risk factors following PDE5i prescription in British Columbia. An individual-level time series analysis with switching replications was utilized for this analysis. Results – Men with ED were found to have double the odds of having undiagnosed diabetes compared to those without ED. This was most significant among middle-aged men (ages 40-59 years), as the predicted probability of having undiagnosed diabetes increased from 1 in 50 in men without ED to 1 in 10 in men with ED. Among men aged 40 to 59 years old in British Columbia, we found a sudden increase in prescriptions for antihypertensives (28 per 1,000), statins (15 per 1,000), and antidiabetics (18 per 1,000) in the 90 days following a new prescription for a PDE5i. For both hypercholesterolemia and diabetes, relevant screening tests performed in the 30 days following PDE5i prescription were responsible for this change. This increase was followed by a significant declining trend in prescriptions for all three drugs. Conclusions – Men with ED have an increased risk for undiagnosed cardiometabolic risk factors. PDE5is can act as a ‘gateway drug’ for men to be newly treated for these risk factors provided physicians perform the requisite screening investigations. Increased education and awareness of this relationship among both patients and physicians is critical for exploiting the potential for preventing future cardiovascular disease. === Medicine, Faculty of === Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of === Graduate
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