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Erectile Dysfunction in Chronic Kidney Disease

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Erectile Dysfunction in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease

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Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing health problem worldwide affecting approximately 15 % of the adult population. The risk of dying is severalfolds higher than the risk of starting with renal replacement therapy (RRT), CVDs being the main cause of death. Among various risk factors and mechanisms, nitric oxide (NO) deficiency is particularly interesting. Currently with advances in medical care, the survival of CKD patients has been prolonged, and physical functioning and quality of life (QoL) became more important. CKD patients are likely to reveal various sexual dysfunctions prior to dialysis. Symptoms of this disturbing disability are reported with increasing frequency as renal function declines. Approximately 75 % of men undergoing dialysis have erectile dysfunction (ED) which is much higher than in other chronic diseases. ED is the main sexual problem associated with mental QoL in CKD men. The causes of such high prevalence are multifactorial and include physiological, psychological and iatrogenic factors. The pathogenesis of sexual and ED in CKD has been attributed to several risk factors, but to none of them conclusively. Importantly, ED as a serious handicap for normal life should be considered as a marker of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis as well as an indicator of possible silent coronary heart disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Nephrology, Hypertension, Dialysis and Transplantation, School of Medicine University of Zagreb, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, Zagreb, 10000, Croatia

    Bojan Jelaković MD, PhD, Margareta Fištrek Prlić MD & Mario Laganović MD, PhD

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  1. Bojan Jelaković MD, PhD
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  2. Margareta Fištrek Prlić MD
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  3. Mario Laganović MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Bojan Jelaković MD, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tallinn University of Technology, North Estonia Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia

    Margus Viigimaa

  2. Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece

    Charalambos Vlachopoulos

  3. Internal Medicine, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Michael Doumas

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Jelaković, B., Prlić, M.F., Laganović, M. (2015). Erectile Dysfunction in Chronic Kidney Disease. In: Viigimaa, M., Vlachopoulos, C., Doumas, M. (eds) Erectile Dysfunction in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08272-1_10

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