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Lower Alzheimer Risk Seen With PDE5i Initiation for Erectile Dysfunction

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 13, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7, 2024 -- For men with erectile dysfunction (ED), phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) initiation is associated with a lower risk for Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a study published online Feb. 7 in Neurology.

Matthew Adesuyan, from the UCL School of Pharmacy in London, and colleagues conducted a cohort study involving men aged 40 years and older with a new diagnosis of ED between 2000 and 2017 to examine the association between PDE5i initiation compared to nonuse and the risk for developing AD.

The study included 269,725 men; during a median follow-up of 5.1 years, 1,119 were newly diagnosed with AD. The researchers found that the adjusted hazard ratio for AD was 0.82 for PDE5i initiators compared with nonuse. Individuals issued >20 prescriptions had a reduced risk for AD (hazard ratios, 0.56 and 0.65 for 21 to 50 and >50 prescriptions, respectively). The primary findings were supported in a sensitivity analysis with a one-year lag period (hazard ratio, 0.82), but were not significant with inclusion of a three-year lag period.

"The findings of this large population-based study suggest that the use of PDE5i may be associated with a reduced risk of incident AD," the authors write. "The greatest risk reduction was observed in those issued >20 prescriptions over a median follow-up of five years."

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