Abstract: Objective To analyze the impact of vascular endothelial injury and sex hormone level on erectile function in male hemodialysis patients. Methods A total of 83 cases of male patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis were enrolled in this study, and were divided into normal group (group A, n=15), mild erectile dysfunction (ED) group (group B, n=19), moderate ED group (group C, n=25), and severe ED group (group D, n=24) based on the International Index for Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) scale. Serum ICAM-1, VCAM-1, vWF and prolactin (PRL), estradiol (E2), and testosterone (T) were measured. Results Serum phosphorus in group C and serum phosphorus and systolic blood pressure in group D were higher than the reference levels.With the deterioration of erectile function, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and vWF increased gradually, significantly different among the groups (F=267.308, 182.514, and 123.929 respectively, P＜0.001); PRL and E2 increased gradually, significantly different among the groups (F=18.756 and 136.561 respectively, P＜0.001); while serum T level decrease significantly (F= 24.715, P＜0.001). Correlation analysis exhibited that ICAM-1 was significantly correlated with PRL, E2 and T (r=0.298, 0.367 and -0.394 respectively; P=0.032, 0.015 and 0.023 respectively), VCAM-1 was significantly correlated with E2 and T (r=0.314 and -0.308 respectively; P= 0.026 and 0.037 respectively), and vWF was significantly correlated with E2 and T (r=0.295 and -0.317 respectively; P=0.044 and 0.032 respectively). Conclusion Vascular endothelial injury is closely related to sex hormone disturbances, which are the important factors for ED in male hemodialysis patients.

Key words: hemodialysis, endothelial injury, sex hormone, erectile function