Table 1.
Studies Linking Sleep Duration and Erectile Dysfunction in Humans
| References | Cases | Study Objectives | Primary Outcomes | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wu X et al69 | 179 | The relationship between sleep quality and ED. | IIEF-5, GAD-7, PHQ-9, PSQI and sleep parameters | Sleep parameters are significantly associated with ED, poor sleep may increase the possibility of ED. |
| Keller J et al73 | 129 | The simultaneous roles of HPA axis, symptoms and HPA genetic variation in cognitive performance. | NR3C1 (GR) and NR3C2 (MR) SNPs | HPA axis activity and genetic variation can predict cognition in depressed subjects. |
| Abell JG et al74 | 3314 | The association of short sleep duration with the diurnal release of cortisol. | Cortisol | Recurrent sleep problems are associated with adverse salivary cortisol patterns throughout the day. |
| Kumari M et al75 | 2751 | The association of short sleep duration and with the cortisol secretion across the day. | Cortisol | Short sleep duration influences cortisol secretion and duration was associated with cortisol awakening response. |
| von Treuer K et al76 | 9 | The levels of cortisol, before, during, and, after one night of sleep deprivation. | Melatonin, cortisol, prolactin, and TSH | Cortisol was significantly higher on the sleep deprivation night. |
| Leproult R et al104 | 10 | The effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone and cortisol levels. | Cortisol and testosterone | Testosterone levels were lower after sleep restriction than in the rested condition; Daytime cortisol profiles were similar under both conditions. |
| Kobori Y et al81 | 105 | The relationship between sexual function and testosterone and cortisol. | IIEF-5, cortisol and testosterone | The cortisol showed negative correlations with sexual function. |
| Castro-Diehl C et al82 | 527 | The associations of short sleep duration with markers of autonomic tone. | HR and HRV | Short sleep duration was associated with autonomic tone, indicating lower levels of parasympathetic tone and higher levels of sympathetic tone. |
| Jarrin DC et al84 | 180 | The difference of cardiovascular function between patients with short sleep duration and normal sleep duration. | HR and HRV | Short sleepers exhibited significantly dampened parasympathetic activation and increased sympathovagal imbalance compared with normal sleepers. |
| Arnal PJ et al86 | 14 | The effects of sleep on testosterone, cortisol, prolactin and catecholamines. | Testosterone, cortisol, prolactin and catecholamines | Sleep deprivation was associated with decreased circulating testosterone, cortisol and prolactin; Six nights of sleep extension is insufficient to recover the concentrations of testosterone and cortisol after sleep deprivation. |
| Lee JY et al88 | 220 | The alteration of autonomic activity in patients suffering from ED. | IIEF, HR and HRV | ED Patients showed different HRV parameters compared with healthy controls. |
| Cunningham GR et al103 | 6 | The effects of testosterone replacement on sleep-related erections in patients with hypogonadism. | SREs and serum sex steroid | SREs increase in response to testosterone replacement. |
| Hirshkowitz M et al102 | 10 | The association between sleep-related erections and testosterone. | SREs | Androgen reduction impairs the sleep-related erections, but does not eliminate them in healthy young men after a 12-week trial. |
| Bain AR et al110 | 30 | The association between insufficient sleep and impaired NO-mediated vasodilation. | Forearm blood flow | Short sleep duration is associated with endothelial-dependent vasodilator dysfunction. |
| Calvin AD et al111 | 16 | The effect of sleep restriction on endothelial function in healthy people | Flow-mediated vasodilation | Partial sleep restriction leads to impaired endothelial function in healthy people. |
| Weil BR et al115 | 80 | ET-1 mediated vasoconstriction is greater in short sleepers compared with normal sleepers. | Forearm blood flow | Endothelin-1 mediated vasoconstriction is elevated in adults with short sleep duration |
| Stockelman KA et al116 | 36 | Regular aerobic exercise would improve endothelial vasodilation in adults with short sleep duration. | Forearm blood flow | Short sleep duration is associated with endothelial dysfunction mediated by diminished NO signaling and increased ET-1 vasoconstriction. |
| Dzierzewski JM et al120 | 135 | The relationship between sleep duration, inflammatory markers, and general cognitive functioning. | PSQI and inflammatory markers | Sleep duration moderates the association between inflammation and cognitive functioning. |
| Wright KP Jr et al125 | 17 | The effects of acute sleep deprivation on inflammatory markers and cortisol levels. | Cortisol and inflammatory markers | Sleep deprivation and chronic circadian misalignment modulate the levels of cortisol, and chronic circadian misalignment increases plasma levels of inflammatory markers. |
| Irwin MR et al126 | 30 | The effects of sleep deprivation on inflammatory factors. | IL-6 and TNF-α | Sleep deprivation induces the functional alteration of the monocyte in pro-inflammatory cytokine response, and drives cellular immune activation. |
| Tobaldini E et al127 | 15 | Acute sleep deprivation could alter the autonomic and immune response. | Hormones and inflammatory cytokines | Sleep deprivation affects autonomic response and immune modulation independent of the activity of the HPA axis. |
| Vgontzas AN et al128 | 8 | An overall reduced secretion of IL-6 would be associated with a better sleep. | IL-6 | Sleep deprivation changes the temporal secretion pattern of circadian IL-6 and increases IL-6 secretion in daytime. |
| Dolsen MR et al129 | 165 | The associations of inflammatory markers with sleep duration, circadian preference, and health domain. | Inflammatory markers, health domain change, sleep duration and circadian preference | Sleep duration and circadian dysfunction are related to the levels of inflammatory markers and health domain. |
| Elmenhorst D et al140 | 22 | Prolonged wakefulness alters ADORA1 availability in the human brain. | Equilibrium total DVt and BP2 | Higher expression of ADORA1 in the human brain after sleep deprivation were demonstrated. ADORA1 appears to be a potential agent in regulation of sleep homeostasis besides the adenosine itself. |
| Rétey JV et al145 | 119 | The function of adenosine and ADA in human sleep homeostasis. | The distribution of genotypes of the ADA and ADORA2A | Adenosine have a direct role in regulation of sleep homeostasis, and the genetic polymorphism of adenosinergic system may lead to the interindividual variation in electrical activity of brain during wakefulness and sleep. |
| Nilsson EK et al153 | 16 | The effects of sleep deprivation on DNA methylation. | DNA methylation profiling | Two specific signaling pathways, the Notch and Wnt signaling pathways, were epigenetically affected by total sleep deprivation. |
| Huang H et al159 | 796 | The relationship between DNA methylation and sleep duration. | Epigenome-wide methylation analysis | Short sleep duration may be associated with significant differential methylation in CpG sites, and NPY appears to be related to the convergence arising in the pathways affecting sleep. |
Abbreviations: ED, Erectile dysfunction; IIEF, International index of erectile function; GAD-7, General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale; PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; HR, Heart rate; HRV, Heart rate variability; SREs, Sleep-related erections; PET, Positron emission tomography; DVt, Distribution volume; BP2, Binding potential; HPA, Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal; ET-1, Endothelin-1; ETA receptor, Endothelin A receptor; ACh, Acetylcholine; NO, Nitric oxide; IL-6, Interleukin-6; TSH, Thyroid stimulating hormone; TNF-α, Tumor necrosis factor-α; ADA, Adenosine deaminase; ADORA1, Adenosine receptor A1; ADORA2A, Adenosine receptor A2A; DNA, Deoxyribonucleic acid; CpG, Cytosine-phosphate-guanine; GR, Glucocorticoid receptor; MR, Mineralocorticoid receptor; SNP, Single-nucleotide polymorphism.