AB090. Tobacco smoking and erection dysfunction: a systematic review

Background: The aim of this review was to investigate the correlation between smoking and erectile dysfunction (ED).

Methods: ISI Web of Science. PubMed and Google Scholar databases (until June 2017) were searched for relevant publications on the correlation between smoking and erectile dysfunction.

Results: A total of 163 studies were reviewed. Tobacco smoke, an aerosol produced by the incomplete combustion of tobacco, is proved to be harmful to several organs. A wealth of researches showed tobacco smoking is a high-risk factor for ED. Multiple human studies and animal researches analyzed the correlation and possible mechanism between smoking/nicotine and ED.

Conclusions: Almost all the researches showed the clear evidence that tobacco smoking is indeed quite harmful to erectile function. Dose-response relation also confirmed that long term or high quantity of nicotine intake may lead to higher incidence of ED. Smoking may impact on penile vascular endothelial cells and the release of acetylcholine in cerebral cortex. Multiple signal pathways are involved in the smoking-induced ED. Researches also revealed that smoking cessation could, to a certain extent, improve erectile function.

Keywords: Tobacco smoking; erectile dysfunction (ED); mechanism