Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Were Associated With Risk of Sexual Dysfunction in Both Sexes: A Meta-analysis

• Published in: Inflammatory bowel diseases Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 699 - 707
• Main Authors: Zhao, Shankun, Wang, Jiamin, Liu, Yangzhou, Luo, Lianmin, Zhu, Zhiguo, Li, Ermao, Luo, Jintai, Zhao, Zhigang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 14.03.2019
• Subjects: Complications and side effects; Disease susceptibility; Female; Females; Gastrointestinal diseases; Humans; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - complications; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - physiopathology; Male; Risk Factors; Sexual disorders; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - etiology; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - etiology; China; meta-analysis; sexual dysfunction; systematic review; inflammatory bowel diseases
• ISSN: 1078-0998; 1536-4844; 1536-4844
• DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izy345

Abstract Background An association between inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and increased susceptibility to sexual dysfunction (SD) was reported in a number of studies. Method MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched for all relevant studies reporting the sexual function in IBD patients. Relative risk (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to summarize the association between IBD and risk of SD. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were applied to detect potential bias. Results Overall, 351,668 male individuals and 1309 female individuals (the mean age ranged from 33.6 years to 52.4 years) were included from 8 studies (of which 4 studies provided the outcomes of both sexes). Synthesis of results revealed that IBD was significantly associated with an elevated risk of SD in male subjects (7 studies, RR = 1.41, 95% CI, 1.09-1.81, P = 0.008; heterogeneity: I2 = 80.2%, P < 0.001) and female subjects (5 studies, RR = 1.76, 95% CI, 1.28-2.42, P < 0.001; heterogeneity: I2 = 69.6%, P = 0.011). Stratified analysis by the mean age of the individuals indicated that patients with IBD with a relatively young age (male: younger than 50 years; female: younger than 40 years) exhibited a significantly increased odds of SD. Sensitivity analyses showed that no single study dominated the overall combined RR. Conclusion Evidence from this meta-analysis revealed that both male and female patients with IBD have a significantly increased risk of SD, which should remind both gastroenterologists and urologists to be aware of the potential hazardous effect of IBD for developing SD.