Erectile Dysfunction in Male Adults With Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with psoriasis have increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but data on atopic dermatitis (AD) are less clear-cut. However, it is well-established that erectile dysfunction (ED) can serve as a risk marker for coronary disease. AIM: To investigate the incidence, prevalence, and risk of ED in men with psoriasis and AD. METHODS: The sample included all Danish men at least 30 years old. In patients with AD and psoriasis, we determined disease severity based on use of systemic therapy. We performed a cross-sectional study (January 1, 2008) using logistic regression to estimate the prevalence and odds ratio of ED. Moreover, in a cohort study design, patients were followed from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2012, and Cox regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios of new-onset ED. Models were adjusted for potential confounding factors, including age, socioeconomic status, health care consumption, smoking, alcohol abuse, diabetes, and cholesterol-lowering drug use. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome was initiation of pharmacotherapy used for treatment of ED. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 1,756,679 Danish men (age range = 30-100 years), of which 2,373 and 26,536 had adult AD (mild = 1,072; severe = 1,301) and psoriasis (mild = 21,775; severe = 4,761), respectively. Mean ages (SDs) were 53.0 (14.6), 46.7 (12.0), and 56.3 (13.8) years for the general population, patients with AD, and patients with psoriasis, respectively. Prevalences of ED were 8.7%, 6.7%, and 12.8% for the general population, patients with AD, and patients with psoriasis, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios (logistic regression) of ED were decreased in patients with AD (0.68; 0.57-0.80) but increased in those with psoriasis (1.15; 1.11-1.20). Adjusted odds ratios for mild and severe AD were 0.63 (0.48-0.82) and 0.72 (0.58-0.88), respectively, and those for psoriasis these were 1.16 (1.11-1.21) and 1.13 (1.03-1.23). Adjusted hazard ratios (Cox regression) were 0.92 (0.76-1.11) for AD and 1.14 (1.08-1.20) for psoriasis. The ED risk was not increased in men with mild AD (0.85; 0.63-1.14) or severe AD (0.97; 0.76-1.24) but was significantly increased in men with mild psoriasis (1.13; 1.09-1.20) and severe psoriasis (1.17; 1.04-1.32). CONCLUSION: We found an increased prevalence and risk of ED in men with psoriasis, whereas the risk was comparable to (and even slightly lower than) the general population for men with AD. Egeberg A, Hansen PR, Gislason GH, et al. Erectile Dysfunction in Male Adults With Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis. J Sex Med 2017;14:380-386.

Effects of wages on smoking decisions of current and past smokers.

PURPOSE: We used longitudinal data and instrumental variables (IVs) in a prospective design to test for the causal effects of wages on smoking prevalence among current and past smokers. METHODS: Nationally representative U.S. data were drawn from the 1999-2009 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Our overall sample was restricted to full time employed persons, aged 21-65 years. We excluded part time workers and youths because smoking and wage correlations would be complicated by labor supply decisions. We excluded adult never smokers because people rarely begin smoking after the age of 20 years. IVs were created with state-level minimum wages and unionization rates. We analyzed subsamples of men, women, the less educated, the more educated, quitters, and backsliders. Validity and strength of instruments within the IV analysis were conducted with the Sargan-Hansen J statistic and F tests. RESULTS: We found some evidence that low wages lead to more smoking in the overall sample and substantial evidence for men, persons with high school educations or less (<13 years of schooling), and quitters. Results indicated that 10% increases in wages lead to 5.5 and 4.6 percentage point decreases in smoking for men and the less educated; they also increased the average chance of quitting among base-year smokers from 17.0% to 20.4%. Statistical tests suggested that IVs were strong and valid in most samples. Subjects' other family income, including spouses' wages, was entered as a control variable. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in an individual's wages, independent of other income, decreased the prevalence of smoking among current and past smokers.

No relationship between lung function and high-sensitive C-reactive protein in adolescence.

INTRODUCTION: Several studies on adults have indicated that lower spirometric lung function may be associated with increased systemic inflammation, but no studies have investigated if this association is already present in adolescence. OBJECTIVE: We explored the temporal relationship between changes in lung function and concentrations of plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) in a population-based cohort study at ages 14 and 20 years using a high-sensitivity CRP assay. METHODS: CRP measurements were performed in a total of 420 subjects at mean age of 13.9 years. Of these, 262 subjects (62%) participated in the follow-up investigation at mean age of 20.1 years. RESULTS: Levels of log-CRP at age 14 were not significantly associated with forced expiratory volume (FEV(1) ) or FEV(1) / forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio at age 20, nor with the change in FEV(1) , FVC or FEV(1) /FVC ratio between 14 and 20 years after controlling for body mass index (BMI), airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), asthma, smoking, sex, and height at 14 years, and change in height between 14 and 20 years. Sex, BMI, AHR, ECP and change in height between 14 and 20 years were identified as independent factors associated with the change in FEV(1) , FVC and FEV(1) /FVC ratio in adolescence. CONCLUSION: We did not find an association between CRP levels at age 14 and change in lung function by age 20; whereas, sex, change in height, BMI, AHR and ECP were associated with lung function change in adolescence. Our findings indicate that systemic inflammation is of less importance for change in lung function in adolescence. Please cite this paper as: Nybo M, Hansen HS, Siersted HC and Rasmussen F. No relationship between lung function and high-sensitive C-reactive protein in adolescence.