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Public release date: 02 January 2010
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Study links restless leg syndrome with erectile dysfunction in older men
According to study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep,
erectile dysfunction is more common in older men
with restless leg syndrome (RLS) than in those without RLS. At the same time, study suggests the magnitude of
this association increases with a higher frequency of RLS symptoms. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction
also increased with age.
The associations in not dependent of possible risk factors for RLS such as age, body mass index, use of antidepressants,
anxiety. The study leader thinks that the mechanisms underlying the association between RLS and erectile dysfunction
could be caused by hypofunctioning of dopamine in the central nervous system. This hypofunctioning of dopamine, which
is associated with both conditions, means that the two disorders share a common mechanism.
The study authors also noted that the link between RLS and erectile dysfunction also could be related in part to other
sleep disorders that co-occur with RLS. For example, sleep deprivation may and obstructive sleep apnea decrease
circulating testosterone levels. They also stressed out that the cross-sectional design of the study did not allow for
a sharp determination of causality and to lead to
ways to treat erectile dysfunction.
The study authors collected data about restless legg syndrome from 23,119 older men who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-up study, a
large ongoing U.S. cohort of male dentists, optometrists, osteopaths, podiatrists, pharmacists and veterinarians.
Older participants were between the ages of 56 and 91 years, with a mean age of 69 years. To avoid
men's health questions
and to reduce possible misclassification of RLS, participants with diabetes and arthritis were excluded.
Despite large cohort of individuals investigated, authors concluded that further epidemiological studies are needed
to better clarify the relationship between the restless legg syndrome and erectile dysfunction and to explore the biological mechanisms
underlying the association.
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Sleep is the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC (APSS), a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The APSS publishes original findings in areas pertaining to sleep and circadian rhythms. Sleep, a peer-reviewed scientific and medical journal, publishes 12 regular issues and 1 issue comprised of the abstracts presented at the SLEEP Meeting of the APSS.
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