The prevalence and risk factors of erectile dysfunction in kidney transplant recipients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore).
Liu, X., et al.2025 Oct 3;104(40):e44509.
Aims
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with erectile dysfunction in renal transplant patients.
Interventions
Relevant literature was searched on databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus,Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, VIP, CNKI, Wanfang and CBM. Studies were screened by two independent reviewers. The Newcastle–Ottawa scale and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of cohort studies and cross-sectional studies respectively.
Participants
28 studies were included in the review.
Outcomes
Prevalence and risk factors of ED.
Follow-up
N/A
CET Conclusions
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the prevalence in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) is not consistently reported. This meta-analysis sought to determine the prevalence of ED in the KTR population and determine the risk factors that could predict its occurrence. 28 studies were included in the analysis, all retrospective analyses. The overall prevalence of ED in male KTRs was reported as 53.0% (95% CI, 48.0%–57.9%) with diabetes mellitus and older age identified as predictive factors. None of the included studies compared rates of ED before and after kidney transplant and there is no detail of the severity of ED reported. Furthermore, there is no comparison with the rate of ED in age- and morbidity-matched non-transplant patients. The authors’ assertion that ED is not improved by kidney transplantation is thus not supported by this meta-analysis.
Trial registration
PROSPERO - CRD420250656207