Vitamin D deficiency may contribute to the explanation of the link between chronic periodontitis and erectile dysfunction

摘要

Oguz and colleagues recently reported that men between the ages of 30 and 40 years with erectile dysfunction (ED) had an odds ratio of 3.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.4-9.6) of having chronic peri-odontitis (CP) [1]. They suggest "it will be of benefit to consider periodontal disease as a causative clinical condition of ED in such patients." Although the causal connection has not been established, it is worthwhile to consider whether diagnosis of CP might be treated in a manner that would reduce the risk of developing ED.One way to do this might be in treating vitamin D deficiency. In a recent paper, evidence for vitamin D deficiency as a possible risk factor for ED related to vascular dysfunction was outlined [2]. The primary evidence presented was that ED and cardiovascular disease share many of the same risk factors for ED (factors, i.e., other than prostate operations or psychological conditions), whereas better vitamin D provision has been found to be associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease [2], However, it has not yet been demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for ED.