Parkinson’s Disease Is Associated with Risk of Sexual Dysfunction in Men but Not in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract Background Mounting evidence has emerged suggesting that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are susceptible to sexual dysfunction (SD). Aim To better clarify the relationship between PD and SD. Methods PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library database, and PsychINFO database were systematically searched for pertinent studies evaluating sexual function in the patients with PD. This systematic review and meta-analysis have been registered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42018108714; http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO ). Outcomes The association between PD and SD was assessed using relative risk (RR) with 95% CI. The quality of evidence was ranked by the GRADE profiler. Results 11 observational studies met the predefined criteria for inclusion, enrolling 30,150 subjects from both the PD group and healthy control group (mean age 54.6–75.1 years). Synthesis results revealed that PD was associated with an elevated risk of SD in males (7 studies; 1.79; 95% CI = 1.26–2.54, P  = .001; heterogeneity: I 2  = 73.2%, P P  = .469; heterogeneity: I 2  = 80.0%, P  = .007). The GRADE profiler indicated the overall quality of the evidence was low in studies including males and very low in studies including females. Clinical Implications The current meta-analysis indicated that men with PD were more likely to experience SD than those without PD. In female subjects, however, PD seemed to not be associated with a high prevalence of SD compared with healthy controls. Based on these findings, patients with PD should be routinely assessed for sexual functioning, especially males. Strengths & Limitations This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between PD and the risks of SD in both males and females. However, substantial heterogeneities were detected across the included studies. Conclusion A hazardous effect of PD for developing SD was detected in men but not in women. As a result, sexual function assessment and appropriate therapy are recommended for men with PD in clinical practice. Zhao S, Wang J, Xie Q, et al. Parkinson’s Disease Is Associated with Risk of Sexual Dysfunction in Men but Not in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis J Sex Med 2019;16:434–446.