Andrology. 2022 Nov 25. doi: 10.1111/andr.13352. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Peyronie’s disease (PD) has a huge impact on patients’ physical and psychological wellbeing.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether patients’ age has an impact on PD symptomatic burden at first presentation.
MATERIALS & METHODS: Data from 129 consecutive heterosexual patients seeking first medical attention for PD at a single andrological tertiary-referral centre were collected. All patients completed the International Index for Erectile Function (IIEF) and the Peyronie’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ). Descriptive statistics was used to compare clinical features between younger (≤40years) and older (>40 years) patients. Multivariable linear model assessed the impact of age, the degree of penile curvature, and their impact on PDQ (total scores and its domains), after adjusting for PD duration and IIEF-erectile function domain scores.
RESULTS: Of 129, 24 (18.6%) patients were ≤40 years old. Young patients presented with a less severe curvature than older patients (median (IQR) 20° (15-36) vs. 50° (40-80); p = 0.04). However, younger age was associated with higher Psychological and Physical Symptoms, PDQ-Penile Pain, and PDQ- Symptom bother scores (Coeff -0.11, -0.21, and -0.17, respectively) (all p<0.05). Moreover, the greater the degree of curvature, the higher the PDQ-Psychological and Physical Symptoms and the PDQ-Symptom Bother scores (Coeff. 0.21 and 0.22, respectively; all p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Around one in five men seeking first medical help for PD is younger than 40 years at presentation in the real-life setting. PD-related distress varies according to patients’ age, with younger men presenting with a greater risk of penile pain and symptom bother despite lower curvature. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PMID:36426559 | DOI:10.1111/andr.13352
