Association of Erectile Dysfunction with a Newly Diagnosed Tinnitus: A
Nationwide Population-based Study
Abstract
Objectives: Given some of the shared organic and psychogenic
pathophysiologic mechanisms in tinnitus and erectile dysfunction (ED),
we hypothesized that newly-onset tinnitus may be associated with ED.
This study aims to explore the relationship between these two medical
conditions using a nationwide population-based database. Design: A
case-control study Setting: Taiwan Participants: We retrieved data from
Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Dataset, 19,329 patients with ED and
19,329 propensity score-matched patients without ED (controls). Main
outcome measures: The diagnosis date was the date of the first ED claim
for ED, which was the index date for cases. We defined the date of the
control patient’s first utilization of ambulatory care during the index
year of their matched case as their index date. Tinnitus during a
one-year period before the index date was the exposure of interest.
Results: Of the 38,658 sampled patients, 1247 (3.23%) had been
diagnosed with tinnitus within the year prior to the index date, 792
(4.10%) among cases and 455 (2.35%) among controls. Multiple logistic
regression analysis showed that cases were more likely to have had a
prior tinnitus diagnosis compared to controls (OR=1.772; 95%
CI=1.577-1.992; p<0.001). After adjusting for co-morbid
medical disorders and social economic factors, cases were more likely
than controls to have a prior diagnosis of tinnitus (OR=1.779, 95%
CI=1.582-2.001, p<0.001). Conclusions: This investigation
detected a novel association between ED and newly-onset tinnitus.
Physicians should be alert to the possibility of developing ED in
patients treated for tinnitus.