title: Effects of cigarette smoking on erectile dysfunction.
abstract: Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States. Although public policies have resulted in a decreased number of new smokers, smoking rates remain stubbornly high in certain demographics with 20% of all American middle-aged men smoking. In addition to the well-established harmful effects of smoking (i.e. coronary artery disease and lung cancer), the past three decades have led to a compendium of evidence being compiled into the development of a relationship between cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction. The main physiologic mechanism that appears to be affected includes the nitric oxide signal transduction pathway. This review details the recent literature linking cigarette smoking to erectile dysfunction, epidemiological associations, dose dependency and the effects of smoking cessation on improving erectile quality.
authors.affiliation: Urology of Indiana, Carmel, IN, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Kovac
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and The Center for Reproductive Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Labbate
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and The Center for Reproductive Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramasamy
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and The Center for Reproductive Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and The Center for Reproductive Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Lipshultz
mesh_terms: D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016540:Smoking Cessation
keywords: Erectile dysfunction; nitric oxide; smoking; smoking cessation; vascular disease