Comparison of risk factors for ischemic cardiovascular disease in localized prostate cancer patients, with and without sexual dysfunction after radical prostatectomy

Radical prostatectomy is the preferred treatment for prostate cancer, and sexual dysfunction is one of its complications. Various causes, including ischemic heart disease, diabetes, and cigarette smoking, can also cause sexual dysfunction in healthy people. Concurrent study of these cardiovascular risk factors with Surgery on the degree of sexual dysfunction in any study in Iran was not performed. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk factors of ischemic cardiovascular disease in locally diagnosed prostate cancer patients with and without sexual dysfunction after radical prostatectomy.

In this longitudinal study, 96 patients underwent radical prostatectomy from 103 patients. The presence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease including cigarette smoking, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertention, history of heart attacks were asked from patients. Electrocardiogram findings, echocardiography, Exercise test and cardiac thalium scan were investigated by a cardiologist. Sexual function status of patients before and after 6 months of surgery was evaluated by Persian IIEF questionnaire. The qualitative variables of the frequency of reporting and comparing them were done using Fisher's exact test and Chi-square test. Subsequently, all data were analyzed with spss version 19.

The mean age of the patients was 63.37 ± 7.9 years. Patients with and without sexual dysfunction were 22 (22.9%) and 74 (77%), respectively. The number of cardiovascular risk factors was statistically significant between the two groups with and without sexual dysfunction (P = 0.001). 84 patients were tested for exercise and 12 patients underwent cardiac thalium scan. Of the 84 patients, 32 (40.7%) were positive for the test, 52 (59.3%) were negative. Comparison of the IIEF score in two groups was statistically significant (p = 0.003).

According to the results of this study, the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and bad cardiovascular disease in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy surgery can affect the sexual potency of patients after surgery.