A population analysis of delayed ejaculation using a claims database: characteristics and national trends in prevalence, incidence, and pharmacotherapy.

We investigated the prevalence, incidence, and rates of pharmacological treatment of delayed ejaculation using the TriNetX Diamond Network. We included all men evaluated in the inpatient, outpatient, and emergency settings. Prevalence was determined by comparing the number of men diagnosed with delayed ejaculation to the entire population. Incidence was determined by comparing the number of men diagnosed with delayed ejaculation without a prior diagnosis to the overall population without a prior diagnosis. Rates of pharmacologic treatment were calculated by comparing the number of men who received a prescription to the total number of men with delayed ejaculation. Trends in prevalence and incidence were compared using six-month intervals, while trends in pharmacologic treatment were compared using one-year intervals. A total of 23,164 adult males were diagnosed with delayed ejaculation from 2013 to 2019. During the final six-month interval (July to December 2019), 2,747 of 16,496,744 men received a delayed ejaculation diagnosis, and 1,375 of 16,488,270 men without a prior diagnosis were diagnosed with delayed ejaculation. In 2019, only 916 of 4,733 (19.4%) men diagnosed with delayed ejaculation received any prescription, with the most common being testosterone (9.5%), bupropion (6.6%), and buspirone (2.3%). Prevalence, incidence and pharmacologic treatment all had increasing trends.

Testosterone levels increase following bariatric surgery - validation of preceding literature in a large-scale population analysis.

BACKGROUND: The effects of bariatric surgery on testosterone levels in men with obesity and hypogonadism have not been thoroughly explored yet. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the possible effects of bariatric surgery on T levels in obese hypogonadal men by comparing T levels before and after surgery using a comprehensive claims database. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The TriNetX US Collaborative Network database was used to identify men ages 18-80 who underwent a bariatric procedure and had a serum T value of < 350 ng/dL prior to surgery. Men who received testosterone therapy before/or after surgery were excluded. We conducted a retrospective self-matched cohort analysis to examine the difference in serum T levels before and after bariatric surgery. A sub-analysis was carried out to explore differences between men who reached eugonadal status or maintained low T levels following surgery. Descriptive statistics detailed sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, with continuous and categorical data compared using unpaired t-tests and chi-square analysis, respectively. Changes in T levels and body mass index (BMI) before and after surgery were compared using an unpaired t-test with a < 0.05 set for significance. All analyses were conducted using the TriNetX platform which utilizes both Python and R software. RESULTS: The study analyzed 69 hypogonadal men who underwent bariatric surgery and had T levels assessed before and after the procedure. The mean (standard deviation) pre-surgery serum T level was 208 ± 79 ng/dL, which post-surgery increased to 371 ± 164 ng/dL, marking an average increase of 163 ± 164 ng/dL. Likewise, the mean (standard deviation) body mass index decreased from 42.9 ± 9.0 to 38.8 ± 5.7 kg/m2. Post-surgery, 45% (31 men) achieved eugonadal status, while 55% (38 men) continued to have low T levels. A comparison between the post-surgery eugonadal cohort and the persistent low T cohort revealed that the former had higher pre-surgery serum T levels (235 ± 71 ng/dL vs. 184 ± 80.4 ng/dL, p = 0.007), a higher pre-surgery body mass index (45.5 ± 4.5 kg/m2 vs. 41.1 ± 11.5 kg/m2, p = 0.041), and a significantly greater reduction in body mass index post-surgery (7.3 ± 7.2 kg/m2 vs. 2.0 ± 12.8 kg/m2, p = 0.04). Notably, the increase in T was significantly higher in the eugonadal cohort compared to the persistent low testosterone cohort (257 ± 143 ng/dL vs. 95 ± 178 ng/dL, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence of bariatric surgery's positive effect on serum T levels in obese men with baseline low T. Almost one out of two men with low T reached normal T levels after bariatric surgery. As the most comprehensive study to date, it validates and substantiates previous work suggesting that weight loss can improve T levels physiologically.

Comparing risk of post infection erectile dysfunction following SARS Coronavirus 2 stratified by acute and long COVID, hospitalization status, and vasopressor administration: a U.S. large claims database analysis.

No study has yet assessed the risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED) after a diagnosis of long COVID, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the persistence or presence of new symptoms at least 4 weeks after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, when compared to those diagnosed with acute COVID or cases in which more severe treatment is required. To assess these risks, we queried the TriNetX COVID-19 Research Network from December 1st 2020 through June 2023. Men aged ≥ 18 diagnosed with long COVID were compared to those diagnosed with acute COVID and analyses were performed to compare men who were/were not hospitalized within 1 month of acute COVID diagnosis and men who did/did not need vasopressors. Cohorts were propensity score matched and compared for differences in new ED diagnosis and/or prescription of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i). After propensity score matching, the long and acute COVID cohorts included 2839 men with an average age of 54.5±16.7 and 55.1±17.1 years respectively (p = 0.21). Men with long COVID were more likely to develop ED or be prescribed PDE5i (3.63%) when compared to men with only acute COVID infections (2.61%) [RR 1.39; 95% CI 1.04, 1.87]. There was no statistically significant risk of developing ED or being prescribed PDE5i for individuals who received vasopressors [RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.77,1.10] or were hospitalized [RR 0.93; 95% CI 0.82,1.06].

Prescribing semaglutide for weight loss in non-diabetic, obese patients is associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction: a TriNetX database study.

Semaglutide was approved in June 2021 for weight loss in non-diabetic, obese patients. While package inserts include sexual dysfunction as a side effect, no study has assessed the degree of this risk. The objective of our study is to assess the risk of developing erectile dysfunction after semaglutide is prescribed for weight loss in obese, non-diabetic men. The TriNetX Research database was used to identify men without a diagnosis of diabetes ages 18 to 50 with BMI > 30 who were prescribed semaglutide after June 1st, 2021. Men were excluded if they had a prior erectile dysfunction diagnosis, any phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors prescription, intracavernosal injections, penile prosthesis placement, history of testosterone deficiency, testosterone prescription, pelvic radiation, radical prostatectomy, pulmonary hypertension, or were deceased. We further restricted our cohort to non-diabetic, obese men by excluding men with a prior diabetes mellitus diagnosis, a hemoglobin A1c > 6.5%, or having ever received insulin or metformin. Men were then stratified into cohorts of those that did and did not receive a semaglutide prescription. The primary outcome was the risk of new ED diagnosis and/or new prescription of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors at least one month after prescription of semaglutide. The secondary outcome was risk of testosterone deficiency diagnosis. Risk was reported using risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). 3,094 non-diabetic, obese men ages 18-50 who received a prescription of semaglutide were identified and subsequently matched to an equal number cohort of non-diabetic, obese men who never received a prescription of semaglutide. After matching, average age at index prescription for non-diabetic, obese men was 37.8 ± 7.8 and average BMI at index prescription was 38.6 ± 5.6. Non-diabetic men prescribed semaglutide were significantly more likely to develop erectile dysfunction and/or were prescribed phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (1.47% vs 0.32%; RR: 4.5; 95% CI [2.3, 9.0]) and testosterone deficiency (1.53% vs 0.80%; RR: 1.9; 95% CI [1.2, 3.1]) when compared to the control cohort of non-diabetic men who never received a semaglutide prescription.

Testosterone therapy in females is not associated with increased cardiovascular or breast cancer risk: a claims database analysis.

BACKGROUND: Testosterone therapy (TTh) has been shown to improve libido in women with sexual dysfunction, but its utilization has been limited due to concern for cardiovascular events and past studies reporting highly variable results. AIM: To assess the association of TTh in women with major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), including heart attack, stroke, or death, using a large database. METHODS: The TriNetX Diamond Network was queried from 2009 to 2022. Our study cohort included adult females with ≥3 systemic testosterone prescriptions within a year. Our control cohort excluded females with any testosterone prescriptions, polycystic ovary syndrome, or androgen excess. Both cohorts excluded females with prior heart failure, unstable angina, intersex surgery (female to male), personal history of sex reassignment, or gender identity disorders. Propensity matching between the cohorts was performed. A subanalysis by age was conducted (18-55 and >55 years). OUTCOMES: We evaluated the association of TTh to the following: MACE, upper or lower emboli or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), breast neoplasm, and hirsutism within 3 years of TTh. RESULTS: When compared with propensity-matched controls, adult females with TTh had a lower risk of MACE (risk ratio [RR], 0.64; 95% CI, 0.51-0.81), DVT (RR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.42-0.90), PE (RR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.28-0.82), and malignant breast neoplasm (RR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.37-0.62). Similarly, females aged 18 to 55 years with TTh had a lower risk of MACE (RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.28-0.85) and DVT (RR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.25-0.93) and a similar risk of malignant breast neoplasm (RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.34-1.12). Females aged ≥56 years with TTh had a similar risk of MACE (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.64-1.10), DVT (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.50-1.36), and PE (RR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.26-1.05) and a significantly lower risk of malignant breast neoplasm (RR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.38-0.68). Risk of hirsutism was consistently higher in those with TTh as compared with propensity-matched controls. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Our results contribute to safety data on TTh, a therapy for sexual dysfunction in women. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: The TriNetX Diamond Network allows for significant generalizability but has insufficient information for some factors. CONCLUSIONS: We found a decreased risk of MACE among women with TTh as compared with matched controls and a similar risk of MACE in postmenopausal women while demonstrating a similar or significantly lower risk of breast cancer on age-based subanalysis.

Ileal Conduit versus Cutaneous Ureterostomy after Open Radical Cystectomy: Comparison of 90-Day Morbidity and Tube Dependence at Intermediate Term Follow-Up.

Background: This study aims to compare perioperative morbidity and drainage tube dependence following open radical cystectomy (ORC) with ileal conduit (IC) or cutaneous ureterostomy (CU) for bladder cancer. Methods: A single-center, retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing ORC with IC or CU urinary diversion between 2020 and 2023 was carried out. The 90-day perioperative morbidity, as per Clavien-Dindo (C.D.) complication rates (Minor C.D. I-II, Major C.D. III-V), and urinary drainage tube dependence (ureteral stent or nephrostomy tube) after tube-free trial were assessed. Results: The study included 56 patients (IC: 26, CU: 30) with a 14-month median follow-up. At 90 days after IC or CU, the frequencies of any, minor, and major C.D. complications were similar (any-69% vs. 77%; minor-61% vs. 73%; major-46% vs. 30%, respectively, p > 0.2). Tube-free trial was performed in 86% of patients with similar rates of tube replacement (19% IC vs. 32% CU, p = 0.34) and tube-free survival at 12 months was assessed (76% IC vs. 70% CU, p = 0.31). Conclusions: Compared to the ORC+IC, ORC+CU has similar rates of both 90-day perioperative complications and 12-month tube-free dependence. CU should be offered to select patients as an alternative to IC urinary diversion after RC.