Red blood cell distribution width values in erectile dysfunction

Purpose Erectile dysfunction (ED) has increased prevalence by age and significantly affects the quality of life of men and their partners. To investigate the relationship between ED and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) values. Materials and method Between September 2019 and December 2019, a total of 192 individuals comprising those that were admitted to the urology outpatient clinic with ED complaints and healthy volunteers from among hospital staff were prospectively included in the study. The participants were divided into two groups according to the international erectile function index (IIEF-5) as ED group (n = 148) and control group (n = 44). Results There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, smoking status, presence of hypertension, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, total prostate-specific antigen and haematocrit values. Body mass index, fasting blood sugar, neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were significantly higher in the ED group (28.5 ± 27.4 kg/m2 vs 26.8 ± 26.5 kg/m2, p = .021, 109.05 ± 49.7 mg/dl vs 93.39 ± 10.2 mg/dl, p Conclusion Based on the strong relationship between RDW and ED, we consider that RDW may be a new indicator in the diagnosis of ED.