Dietary patterns can influence the risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED). It is unknown whether plant-based diets, which have known health and environmental benefits, are associated with ED. The aim of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal association between plant-based diet index scores and incident ED.
We conducted a prospective analysis of 21,942 men aged 40 to 75 years who were enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. ED was assessed with questionnaires every four years starting in 2000. Dietary data were collected via validated food frequency questionnaires completed every four years and were used to calculate total plant-based diet index (PDI) scores, as well as healthy (hPDI) and unhealthy (uPDI) subscores. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute hazard ratios (HR) for incident ED. All models were stratified by age (<60, 60 to <70, ≥70 years).
hPDI was inversely associated with incident ED among men aged 60 to <70. Those in the highest quintile of hPDI in that age group had an 18% lower risk of ED (HR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.73-0.91; P-trend<0.001) compared to those in the lowest quintile. Conversely, uPDI was positively associated with ED in men aged <60 (HR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.01-1.60; P-trend=0.02).
Encouraging a healthy plant-based diet may be an environmentally sustainable intervention for men interested in maintaining erectile function.
BJU international. 2022 Apr 28 [Epub ahead of print]
Heiko Yang, Benjamin N Breyer, Eric B Rimm, Edward Giovannucci, Stacy Loeb, Stacey A Kenfield, Scott R Bauer
Department of Urology, UCSF., Departments of Nutrition & Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health., Department of Urology and Population Health, New York University and Manhattan Veterans Affairs.