Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34051538›Full record

ReviewSexual medicine2021

Serum Folic Acid and Erectile Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Yuyang Zhang, Wei Zhang, Yutian Dai, Hui Jiang, Xiansheng Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Sexual medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Yuyang ZhangDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Institute of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China.
Wei ZhangDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Institute of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China.
Yutian DaiDepartment of Andrology, Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Hui JiangThe Department of Urology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
Xiansheng ZhangDepartment of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Institute of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China. Electronic address: xiansheng-zhang@163.com.
First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University · CNAnhui Medical University · CNNanjing Drum Tower Hospital · CNPeking University Third Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe association between folic acid (FA) and erectile dysfunction (ED) was contradictory in the published original articles, and no meta-analysis was conducted to pool these data.

aimTo verify the role of FA in the pathology of ED and explore the treatment efficacy of FA for ED patients.

methodsAn extensive search was performed on PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science to obtain all relevant studies published up to October 31, 2020. Studies comparing the serum FA level between ED patients and healthy controls, or comparing the score of the IIEF-5, or IIEF before and after folic acid therapy alone or combination in ED patient were eligible for our meta-analysis. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scales (NOS) was used to qualify included studies.

main outcome measuresThe standardized mean differences (SMD) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to pool our data.

resultsNine studies were eligible for our meta-analysis to verify the association between FA and ED, and to explore the treatment efficacy of FA for ED patients. The pooled SMD of the FA level difference between ED patients and healthy subjects was -0.94 (95% CI: -1.59, -0.30, P = .004). Moreover, the level of folic acid in healthy subjects, Mild ED patients, Moderate ED patients and Severe ED patients was 11.847 (95%CI = 9.671, 14.022), 9.496 (95%CI = 8.425, 10.567), 6.597 (95%CI = 5.187, 8.007) and 5.623 (95%CI = 3.535, 7.711) respectively. The SMD of changes in score of IIEF-5 was 1.89 with 95%CI (1.60, 2.17) after FA administration in ED patients. Our analysis also showed that combination therapy of FA plus tadalafil changed the score of IIEF with 0.90 (95%CI = 0.44, 1.36) comparing to combination of placebo plus tadalafil.

conclusionThis novel meta-analysis demonstrated that FA was an independent risk factor for ED and FA supplement may have potentially positive effects in the treatment of ED patients. Zhang Y, Zhang W, Dai Y, et al. Serum Folic Acid and Erectile Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sex Med 2021;9:100356.

Indexed as

Erectile DysfunctionFolic AcidMeta-Analysis

Identifiers

PMID34051538
PMCPMC8240352
OpenAlexW3164840204

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.