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Implication of Cigarette Smoking and Cessation on Sexual Function in Men and Women
Abstract and Figures
Sexual dysfunction is a major public health problem that negatively affects the lives of hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. There is strong evidence suggesting that tobacco use and sexual dysfunction are linked. In fact, cigarette smoking is independently associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). This relationship has been observed among both current and former smokers and among both passive and active smokers, and many studies suggest a dose-response relationship. Further, prospective studies indicate that cigarette use increases the risk of incident ED, whereas smoking cessation appears to improve erectile function. The link between tobacco use (and disuse) and sexual function in women is relatively understudied, and results remain inconclusive. Future research would benefit from utilizing more prospective designs and assessing the effects of smoking (and particularly passive smoking) on a wider range of sexual function outcomes (physiological, sexual dysfunctions other than male and female arousal disorders), especially among women.
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... Smoking is one of the independent risk factors for erectile dysfunction due to its strong vasoconstrictor effect (Chew et al., 2009;Harte, 2014). Cigarette smoke and its components reduce neuronal nitric-oxide synthase activity in penile tissue. ...
It is a review article on sexual function and Substance use other than alcohol and opioids. It explains how biopsychosocial factors interact in an intricate manner affecting the sexual function of an individual. Therefore, we attempted to discuss the impact of substance use on sexual function, focusing on cannabis, tobacco, benzodiazepines (BZDs), cocaine, amphetamine, and amphetamine-type stimulant (ATSs), and club drugs.
Sexual dysfunction (SD) is a disorder of sexual behavior and sexual sensation that appears as an abnormality or absence of sexual psychology and physiological reaction. It is a general term for many different symptoms includes several aspects, erectile dysfunction (ED), failure of sexual intercourse and loss of libido/desire. According to statistics, 52% of 40˜70 year old men suffer from varying degrees of SD. And these diseases caused by a variety of biological and psychological factors. In world about 15% of couples are affected by sexual disharmony among these 40 to 50% are because of male factors. Considering the sensitivity of male reproduction system, it is being easily affected by multiple risk factors, such as chronic diseases, environmental contaminants, drug toxicity and unhealthy lifestyle and so on. In the last few years, significant progress have been made toward understanding the various forms of male SD and the possible potential pathological mechanisms. However, for the time being, the exact cause of SD is not fully understood from the literature. What is also significant about there are quite limited treatments in reproductive medicine being directed against these lesions. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current findings of pathogenic factors of SD in clinical or animal studies, to elaborate the underlying mechanisms of these diseases from studies in vivo and in vitro, to analyses the risk factors, and to describe the management strategies traditionally recommended of male sexual dysfunction. The review findings elucidate a systematic strategies for effectively preventing these diseases.
Objective
To examine potential mechanisms underlying nicotine's effects on male sexual arousal by exploring the mediating role of heart rate variability (HRV).
Methods
The sample comprised 22 healthy, nicotine-naïve men (mean age = 20.91 years; standard deviation = 2.43). Data were taken from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial previously completed and published elsewhere. During each laboratory visit, time-domain parameters of HRV (standard deviation of normal-to-normal [NN] intervals, square root of the mean squared difference of successive NN intervals, and percent of NN intervals for which successive heartbeat intervals differed by at least 50 ms [pNN50]) along with the objective (via penile plethysmography) and subjective indices of sexual arousal were assessed.
Results
Acute nicotine ingestion (compared with placebo) was associated with dysregulated sympathovagal balance, which in turn was related to relatively reduced erectile tumescence. HRV did not mediate relations between nicotine intake and self-reported indices of sexual arousal.
Conclusion
HRV mediated the association between nicotine ingestion and erectile capacity. Findings suggest that dysfunctional cardiac autonomic tone may be an underlying mechanism by which nicotine exerts its deleterious effects on erectile health.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a marker of sympathovagal balance; it has been implicated in erectile function and is also altered by tobacco use. Furthermore, smoking and erectile health are strongly related, given that smokers are at increased risk for erectile dysfunction. Few studies have explored the interrelationships between smoking, HRV, and erectile function concurrently.
The aim of this study was to examine potential mechanisms underlying tobacco's effects on penile hemodynamics by exploring the mediating role of HRV.
The sample comprised 119 men (smokers = 64; nonsmokers = 55) (mean age 28.90 years; standard deviation (SD) 11.68; range 18-58) selected from the control conditions of three previously published experiments. Participants were free from a history of cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarct, and/or cardiac/cardiovascular medication use. During a laboratory visit, self-report, anthropometric, cardiovascular, and electrocardiographic data were assessed, as well as sexual arousal responses elicited from viewing an erotic film.
Objective sexual arousal indices (circumferential change via penile plethysmography), self-reported erectile function (per the erectile function domain score of the International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF-EF]), and time- (SD of beat-to-beat intervals) and frequency-domain parameters of HRV (ratio of low-frequency [LF] power to high-frequency [HF] power [LF/HF ratio]) were assessed.
Being a current long-term cigarette smoker was associated with dysregulated sympathovagal balance (higher LF/HF ratios, indicative of sympathetic nervous system dominance), which in turn showed inverse relations with magnitude of erectile tumescence. HRV did not mediate relations between tobacco use and either IIEF-EF scores or resting penile circumference.
Findings suggest that dysfunctional cardiac autonomic tone may be an underlying mechanism by which tobacco exerts its deleterious effects on erectile health. Further research is necessary to determine whether this relationship is mechanistic in nature, or whether it is better explained by other health factors. Harte CB. Concurrent relations among cigarette smoking status, resting heart rate variability, and erectile response. J Sex Med **;**:**-**.
It has been demonstrated that clitoral and vaginal tissues express nitric oxide synthase isoforms in a way that parallels that of the penile corpus cavernosum. Considering the role of the vagina in the female sexual response and the anatomic connection between the clitoris and the anterosuperior vaginal wall, our aim was to study the distribution of type 5 phosphodiesterase (PDE5) in the anterosuperior wall of the human vagina.
Immunohistochemistry was performed on the vaginal tissue of 14 women obtained at autopsy and on exfoliated cells of the vaginal epithelium obtained from 5 healthy female donors. Specific antibodies against PDE5 were tested on both paraffin sections and cytologic smears. Immunoblotting experiments were performed in parallel with the same antibodies.
The histologic analysis of human cadaveric vaginal tissue revealed that PDE5 immunoreactivity was mostly localized in the smooth muscle of vessels, forming a pseudocavernous tissue in the vaginal wall and endothelium. The Skene periurethral glands and vaginal epithelium were also positive for the antibody. The latter finding was confirmed using exfoliated cells of the vaginal epithelium harvested in vivo.
The presence and tissue distribution of PDE5 in the human vagina suggest that the integrated system of nitric oxide synthase-PDE5 may play a physiologic role not only in the male sexual response but also in female sexual arousal.