Alcohol intake and risk of erectile dysfunction: a dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cross-sectional studies
PubMed 30232467 · doi:10.1038/s41443-018-0022-x
What was done
A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies was conducted to evaluate the relationship between alcohol consumption and erectile dysfunction (ED) risk. Databases (PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library) were searched up to March 2016. Twenty-four studies totaling 154,295 participants were included, and study-specific odds ratios were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis alongside non-linear dose-response modeling.
What was found
Light to moderate alcohol consumption (<21 drinks/week) was significantly associated with a lower risk of ED (OR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.59-0.86; P = 0.000). Regular consumption (ever vs. never) was not significantly associated with ED risk (OR = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.75-1.07; P = 0.062), nor was high consumption (>21 drinks/week: OR = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.80-1.22; P = 0.893). A non-linear dose-response relationship was detected (P for non-linearity = 0.0000).
Why it matters
The findings suggest a non-linear relationship where moderate drinking is associated with reduced ED prevalence, while heavy drinking confers no observed protection.
Limits
All included studies were cross-sectional, which prevents determining causality and introduces risks of residual confounding or reverse causation. Variability in how alcohol consumption and ED were defined across individual studies was not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- partial Alcohol consumption (both light-to-moderate and high) is associated with a lower risk of erectile dysfunction in men.