Positive causal link ID'd between computer use, erectile dysfunction

A higher genetic susceptibility to leisure computer usage is associated with an increased risk for erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a study published in Andrology.

Zhao Huangfu, from Changhai Hospital in Shanghai, and colleagues explored the causal association between leisure sedentary behavior and ED. Two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses were performed using publicly available genome-wide association studies of leisure sedentary behaviors, erectile dysfunction, sex hormones, biomarkers of endothelial function, and psychiatric symptoms.

The researchers observed a significant association for a greater risk for ED with higher genetic susceptibility to leisure computer usage (odds ratio, 3.57). There was no evidence seen of a link between watching television or driving for leisure and an increased risk for ED. With the exception of follicle-stimulating hormone levels (odds ratio, 0.29), there were no associations between computer use and depression, anxiety, C-reactive protein, E-selectin, matrix metalloproteinase 7, or other sex hormones. In a sensitivity analysis, there was no indication of heterogeneity or pleiotropy.

"The present Mendelian randomization analysis offered substantial evidence for a positive causal association between computer use and risk of ED and found the effect of computer use on follicle-stimulating hormone, which may provide a new research direction for the pathogenesis of ED caused by leisure sedentary behavior," the authors write.