title: [Environment and erectile dysfunction].
abstract: Exposure to environmental or occupational substances may affect penile erectile function, and it would add to a growing list of pathogenic risk factors associated with erectile dysfunction. Several lines of evidence gained by clinical epidemiologic and biomedical investigations lend support to this viewpoint. Some environmental toxicants, including smoke, lead, organic solvents, and pesticides, are potential hazards, whose effects on the nervous and hormonal systems have been proposed as the leading mechanisms by which environmental toxicants adversely impact erectile function. A synthesis of current data suggests a possible association between environmental exposure and erectile dysfunction, but evidence is not yet sufficient to support a direct causal link for the time being. More studies are needed to identify specific environmental agents that may harm erectile function and to define their exact action mechanisms in this regard.
authors.affiliation: Male Health Management Institute, People's Hospital of Peking University, Beijing 100044, China. xiaofei@bjmu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Wen-jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Xiao-feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants