Periodontitis And Erectile Dysfunction Linked To Major Cardiovascular Events

According to a study headed by the UGR, men with periodontitis and erectile dysfunction are nearly four times more likely to have a significant adverse cardiovascular event (MACE). Erectile dysfunction in men with periodontitis may be a precursor to far more serious (cardiovascular) conditions and events in the near future, such as cerebral infarction, nonfatal myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome (stable and unstable angina), coronary artery bypass grafting, or percutaneous coronary intervention. In a prospective study, a group of researchers led by the University of Granada (UGR) discovered that men with periodontitis who also have erectile dysfunction are nearly four times more likely to have a significant adverse cardiovascular event (MACE). Cerebral infarction, non-fatal myocardial infarction, cardiovascular mortality, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome (stable and unstable angina), coronary artery bypass grafting, and percutaneous coronary intervention are all examples of these illnesses. They were discovered four years after sexual dysfunction was diagnosed on average. The CTS 583 research group, led by Francisco Mesa (from the Department of Stomatology at UGR), collaborated with the Urology Service of the Clnico San Cecilio Teaching Hospital in Granada on this study, which was published in the Journal of Periodontology (the official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology). Miguel Arrabal of the UGR’s Department of Surgery and Surgical Specialties is the service’s director.

Epidemiological investigation

These findings are especially significant because MACEs can be fatal in middle-aged males. This epidemiological association-research presents the most scientific evidence of any study of its sort to date, thanks to its longitudinal approach. The authors attribute the association to an accelerated atherosclerosis process produced by periodontitis—first in the tiny vessels of the corpus cavernosum of the penis, and then in the remainder of the arterioles of other essential organs—despite the fact that it was not the goal of the study. As a result, in men with periodontitis, the start of erectile dysfunction may be a precursor to far more dangerous (cardiovascular) problems and events in the near future. The scientists started this line of research in 2017 with a case-control (observational) study that found that males with periodontitis were 2.17 times more likely to have erectile dysfunction. More information: Francisco Mesa et al, Patients with periodontitis and erectile dysfunction suffer a greater incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events: A prospective study in a Spanish population, Journal of Periodontology (2021). DOI: 10.1002/JPER.21-0477