Erection Problems Linked to Restless-Leg Disorder, Study Shows
Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Erection problems are more common among men with a disorder that causes sufferers to have an irresistible urge to move their legs than those without the condition, a Harvard Medical School study found.
Erectile dysfunction was 78 percent more likely in men with symptoms of restless legs syndrome than those without them, and was most common in sufferers with the most severe symptoms, the researchers said today in the journal Sleep. It’s likely both disorders are caused by a common mechanism, they said.
The study is the first to probe the connection between erectile dysfunction and restless legs syndrome, or RLS, two conditions that have been linked to abnormally low levels of dopamine, a chemical that relays signals in the brain. RLS, a brain disorder that afflicts about 10 percent of Americans, can cause problems falling or staying asleep, according to the Rochester, Minnesota-based Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation.
“This finding indirectly supports a role of dopamine” in restless legs syndrome, Xiang Gao, a research scientist at the Boston-based Harvard School of Public Health, said in the study. More research is needed to clarify the relationship between the disorder and erection problems, and explore the biological mechanisms of the association, he said.
Erectile dysfunction affects as many as 30 million men in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study.
Gao and colleagues studied data from 23,119 men between 56 and 91 years old. About 4 percent had restless legs syndrome and 41 percent had erectile dysfunction. Those who had symptoms of RLS between 5 and 14 times a month were 16 percent more likely to have erectile dysfunction. The men with symptoms occurring more than 15 times a month were 78 percent more likely to have the condition, the study showed.
