Introduction

Prostatitis is classified as acute bacterial prostatitis (category I), chronic bacterial prostatitis (category II), chronic prostatitis (CP)/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS, category III) and asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis (category IV), according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) prostatitis classification system [1]. CP/CPPS, a very common urologic problem, has trivial and complicated symptoms that severely impact the quality of life of patients. Given that monotherapies are usually less effective for alleviating symptoms [2], the UPOINT clinical phenotypic classification system, which has placed major concerns on diversified symptoms, has been established to addresses this puzzle. In this classification system, the phenotype of patients with CP/CPPS is classified into six clinical domains: urinary, psychosocial, organ-specific, infection, neurologic/systemic and tenderness of muscles [3]. The classification and specific treatment of men with CP/CPPS using the UPOINT system have greatly improved the symptoms of CP/CPPS. However, the UPOINT classification does not consider sexual dysfunction, and the inclusion of a sexual dysfunction domain to the UPOINT system is continuously being debated [4].

Sexual dysfunction is one of the distressing health problems that affect men with active sexual activity. The impact of sexual dysfunction on the quality of life of male patients has been well established, and improving sexual dysfunction might help attenuate CP/CPPS symptoms. The relationship between CP/CPPS and sexual dysfunction has often been overlooked [5]. Compared with the general population, men with CP/CPPS appear more likely to experience sexual dysfunction including erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, painful ejaculation and decreased sexual desire [6, 7]. However, a wide range of prevalence estimates for sexual dysfunction has been documented in a multitude of independent studies [8]. The reported prevalence of sexual dysfunction varied considerably mainly due to the definitions and methodologies in sexual function studies. Moreover, the development of sexual dysfunction in patients with CP/CPPS is positively linked with the duration of the disease [9, 10].

Several epidemiological studies have investigated the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS. At present, there has been no large epidemiological study to estimate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS. Estimating the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS would help to better understand morbidity. Therefore, this meta-analysis was aimed to estimate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS based on the all available studies.

Materials and methods

Search strategy

This meta-analysis was conducted according to the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines [11]. We comprehensively searched for relevant studies using Medline (PubMed), Embase (OVID), CBM, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP and Wanfang databases from the inception of this study to August 2015. The following search keywords with various combinations were used: prevalence OR frequency OR questionnaire OR survey AND sexual dysfunction OR erectile dysfunction OR premature ejaculation AND chronic prostatitis OR chronic pelvic pain syndrome. We also hand-searched the reference lists of included articles to identify additional studies.

Study selection

Studies that met the following inclusion criteria were included: (1) any type of observational, cohort or cross-sectional study, and case series; (2) original research written in English and Chinese; (3) studies that provide the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS or the total number and the number of sexual dysfunction participants; and (4) studies that at least reported the prevalence of overall sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation. Erectile dysfunction is defined as the inability to obtain or maintain an erection sufficient for adequate sexual performance. Subjects that scored 21 or less on the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) were defined as having erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, decreased sexual desire, ejaculatory pain and so on were summarized as sexual dysfunction. Studies were excluded when patients were limited to a particular type of CP/CPPS or the study was an editorial, review or abstract. If there were several articles of the same population, we selected only papers with the most detailed data.

Data extraction and quality assessment

Two authors (DY Kang and HJ Li) independently extracted the following information: first author’s surname, publication year, country of data collection, age range of patients, sample size, criterion tools of sexual dysfunction, and prevalence of sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation. Any disagreements were resolved by discussion between the two reviewers. Authors were contacted when additional data were required.

The reporting quality assessment of the articles included in this review was processed by two independent reviewers (DY Kang and HJ Li) after the data collection process. The reporting bias of included studies was based on the STROBE score [12], which is a methodological checklist that provides 22 key criteria relevant to qualitative research studies. The main items include the article’s title and abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion sections and other information.

Statistical analysis

The summary statistic for each individual study was the prevalence proportion and was calculated as the rate of the number of men with sexual dysfunction to the sample size of the studied population. The prevalence and its standard errors were calculated using a standard formula, and then pooled effect size with its corresponding 95 % confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity across studies was determined by I 2 statistic (significance level of I 2 > 50 %) and Cochran’s Q statistic (P < 0.10 was considered statistically significant). In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to pool prevalence estimates using a random effect model due to anticipated clinical heterogeneity. Based on the wide application of the NIH classification of prostatitis, we conducted subgroup analyses according to publication year (1999–2010 vs. 2011–2014). In addition, subgroup analyses were also performed by study locations (China vs. other areas), criterion tools and sample sizes (≥500 vs. <500). Begg’s rank correlation test [13] and Egger’s regression asymmetry test [14] were used to examine possible publication bias. All statistical analyses were conducted using Stata software version 11.0 (Stata Corp LP, College Station, USA).

Results

Literature search

The electronic database search yielded a total of 768 records. After removal of duplicates and scanning by title and abstract, 715 papers were removed. Thus, 53 potentially relevant citations were retrieved for detailed full-text evaluation. Finally, a total of 24 full-manuscript papers [6, 7, 10, 15–35] satisfied the inclusion criteria. The flowchart for the detailed selection process is presented in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Flowchart of the trial selection process for the meta-analysis

Full size image

Study characteristics

A total of 11,189 men with CP/CPPS were included in the current meta-analysis. Seventeen studies (70.8 %) were conducted in China, and the remaining seven studies (29.2 %) were conducted in other areas. All studies were published from 1999 to 2014. Sample sizes ranged from 43 to 2498. Most studies were cross-sectional in design. General characteristics of the 24 studies are presented in Table 1. The overall reporting quality of the studies was moderate to good, and the range of STROBE scores was within 14–19. Risk of reporting bias for individual studies based on STROBE scores is shown in supplemental Table S1.

Table 1 Characteristics of the included studies
Full size table

Overall prevalence of sexual dysfunction

Twelve studies [6, 7, 10, 15–18, 20, 24, 26, 27, 34] involving 6615 patients reported the prevalence of total sexual dysfunction. As shown in Fig. 2, pooled estimation for the prevalence of overall sexual dysfunction among men with CP/CPPS was 0.62 (95 % CI 0.48–0.75) in a random effect model, and significant heterogeneity was observed (I 2 = 99.3 %; P < 0.001). Evidences of publication bias were not noted in both the Begg’s rank correlation test (P = 0.193) and Egger’s linear regression test (P = 0.157).

Fig. 2
figure 2

Overall prevalence of sexual dysfunction among men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in a random effect model

Full size image

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation

Seventeen studies [6, 7, 16, 18, 20–23, 25–30, 32–34] involving 9835 patients reported the prevalence of erectile dysfunction. As shown in Fig. 3, pooled estimation for the prevalence of erectile dysfunction among men with CP/CPPS was 0.29 (95 % CI 0.24–0.33; I 2 = 96.5 %; P < 0.001) in a random effect model. Both Begg’s rank correlation test (P = 0.434) and Egger’s linear regression test (P = 0.173) did not reveal evidences of publication bias.

Fig. 3
figure 3

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction among men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in a random effect model

Full size image

Thirteen studies [16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25–27, 29, 31, 33–35] involving 6819 patients reported premature ejaculation data. As shown in Fig. 4, pooled estimation for the prevalence of premature ejaculation among men with CP/CPPS was 0.40 (95 % CI 0.30–0.50; I 2 = 98.9 %; P < 0.001) in a random effect model. Evidences of publication bias were observed on Egger’s linear regression test (P = 0.048), but not in Begg’s rank correlation test (P = 0.300).

Fig. 4
figure 4

Prevalence of premature ejaculation among men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in a random effect model

Full size image

Subgroup analyses

From 1999 to 2010, the prevalence of total sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation was 0.65 (95 % CI 0.48–0.83), 0.27 (95 % CI 0.22–0.33) and 0.41 (95 % CI 0.27–0.55), respectively. From 2011 to 2014, the prevalence of total sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation was 0.50 (95 % CI 0.25–0.75), 0.35 (95 % CI 0.29–0.40) and 0.39 (95 % CI 0.37–0.41), respectively. In addition, prevalence rates of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation were higher in other areas than in China (Table 2).

Table 2 Subgroup analyses the prevalence of sexual dysfunction
Full size table

Discussion

To the best of our knowledge, this meta-analysis is the first to estimate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS. This study provides evidence that the overall prevalence of sexual dysfunction among men with CP/CPPS was 62 %. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation was 29 % and 40 %, respectively. Specifically, the prevalence of erectile dysfunction among men with CP/CPPS had an increasing trend in recent years.

Stratified analysis by geographical area revealed that the prevalence of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation appeared to be low in China than in Western nations. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limited number of studies conducted in Western nations. Furthermore, overall prevalence of sexual dysfunction among men with CP/CPPS demonstrated a slight decreasing trend in recent years. Subgroup analyses have indicated that the pooled prevalence of erectile dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS increased from 27 % in 1999–2010 to 35 % in 2011–2014, suggesting that the prevalence rate of erectile dysfunction might experience an increase in recent years. The prevalence of premature ejaculation in men with CP/CPPS exhibited a slight decreasing trend, from 41 % in 1999–2010 to 39 % in 2011–2014.

Data on the impact of CP/CPPS on sexual function varied across studies. Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in men with CP/CPPS compared with the general population. A cross-sectional study from Singapore indicated that men with CP/CPPS had the worse erectile function as measured with the IIEF assessment tool, compared with men without prostatitis [36].

A case–control study conducted in Taiwan revealed that men with erectile dysfunction were more likely to have had a previous diagnosis of CP/CPPS (OR 3.62; 95 % CI 3.07–4.26) after adjusting for covariates than controls [37].

Recognition of the high prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with CP/CPPS led to the proposal of adding a sexual domain to the UPOINT system and that the UPOINT plus sexual dysfunction (UPOINTS) ty** system for prostatitis may be reasonable. However, the validity of adding a sexual dysfunction domain to the UPOINT system continuous to be debated. Some studies have shown that the inclusion of a sexual domain to the UPOINT system improved its correlation with symptom severity [38, 39] or the quality of life of patients [40], while other studies have indicated that adding a sexual domain did not appear to add value [41]. These conflicting results might be explained by the diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the studied populations. Our study demonstrates that the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among men with CP/CPPS was up to 62 %, and this finding highlights the importance of assessing the sexual domain in men with CP/CPPS. Regular ejaculation is one of the effective methods of treating CP/CPPS. Delaying ejaculation, sexual abstinence and coitus interrupts are all risk factors for CP/CPPS [42]. Therefore, adding a sexual domain to the UPOINT system may develop a UPOINT ty** system that could help to differentiate more homogenous UPOINT subgroups and guide individualized therapy.

The underlying mechanisms of CP/CPPS-associated sexual dysfunction remain unclear. Vasculogenic, endocrine and neurogenic factors, as well as psychological factors, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of sexual dysfunction in CP/CPPS. Patients with CP/CPPS are more likely to have nitric oxide-mediated vascular endothelial dysfunction compared to asymptomatic controls, which contribute to sexual dysfunction in these populations [43]. Prostatic calcifications were significantly associated with the presence of erectile dysfunction in males with CP/CPPS [44]. A link between sexual function and chronic prostatitis might be a psychological factor [

References

  1. Krieger JN, Nyberg L Jr, Nickel JC (1999) NIH consensus definition and classification of prostatitis. JAMA 282:236–237

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Nickel JC, Shoskes D (2009) Phenotypic approach to the management of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Curr Urol Rep 10:307–312

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Shoskes DA, Nickel JC, Rackley RR, Pontari MA (2009) Clinical phenoty** in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and interstitial cystitis: a management strategy for urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 12:177–183

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Magri V, Wagenlehner FM, Perletti G (2012) Re: Samplaski et al.: Inclusion of erectile domain to UPOINT phenotype does not improve correlation with symptom severity in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. (Urology 2011;78:653–658). Urology 79: 487–488; author reply 488–489

  5. Muller A, Mulhall JP (2005) Sexual dysfunction in the patient with prostatitis. Curr Opin Urol 15:404–409

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Sonmez NC, Kiremit MC, Guney S, Arisan S, Akca O et al (2011) Sexual dysfunction in type III chronic prostatitis (CP) and chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) observed in Turkish patients. Int Urol Nephrol 43:309–314

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Lee SW, Liong ML, Yuen KH, Leong WS, Cheah PY et al (2008) Adverse impact of sexual dysfunction in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Urology 71:79–84

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Tran CN, Shoskes DA (2013) Sexual dysfunction in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. World J Urol 31:741–746

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Liang CZ, Zhang XJ, Hao ZY, Shi HQ, Wang KX (2004) Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in Chinese men with chronic prostatitis. BJU Int 93:568–570

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Chen WB, Wu WL (2011) Correlation between chronic prostatitis and sexual dysfunction. Yiyao Qianyan 1:106–107

    Google Scholar 

  11. Stroup DF, Berlin JA, Morton SC, Olkin I, Williamson GD et al (2000) Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology: a proposal for reporting. Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) group. JAMA 283:2008–2012

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gotzsche PC et al (2007) The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. Ann Intern Med 147:573–577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Begg CB, Mazumdar M (1994) Operating characteristics of a rank correlation test for publication bias. Biometrics 50:1088–1101

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Egger M, Davey Smith G, Schneider M, Minder C (1997) Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test. BMJ 315:629–634

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Liang ZH, Wu ZQ, ** JF, Zhang YL, **a Q (1999) Effect of chronic prostatitis on male sexual function. Sexology 8:19–20

    Google Scholar 

  16. Yang SB, Liu YL, Chi J, Kong CZ, Wang P et al (2002) Chronic prostatitis-related sexual function changes and its evaluation. J Chin Med Univ 31(42–44):49

    Google Scholar 

  17. Chen X, Long BH, Yang LY, Wang Y, Luo ZG et al (2002) Survey on sexual function of 160 patients with chronic prostatitis. J Nanhua Univ (Med Ed) 30:375–377

    Google Scholar 

  18. Hao ZY, Liang CZ, Wu LX, Shi HQ, Liu C et al (2005) The impact of chronic prostatitis on the patient’s quality of life. Chin J Urol 26:367–370

    Google Scholar 

  19. Gonen M, Kalkan M, Cenker A, Ozkardes H (2005) Prevalence of premature ejaculation in Turkish men with chronic pelvic pain syndrome. J Androl 26:601–603

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Chen YJ (2006) Investigation of sexual dysfunction in 220 patients with chronic prostatitis. Shandong Med J 46:78–79

    Google Scholar 

  21. Xv Z, Yang WM, Li GZ, Li XH (2006) Chronic prostatitis and erectile dysfunction. Clin Med China 22:57–59

    Google Scholar 

  22. Li X, Wen RQ, Luo JJ, Chen X, Wang QL et al (2006) Relationship analysis between chronic prostatitis and sexual dysfunction. Chin J Fam Plan 7(432–433):448

    Google Scholar 

  23. Qiu YC, **e CY, Zeng XD, Zhang JH (2007) Investigation of sexual function in 623 patients with chronic prostatitis. Natl J Androl 13:524–526

    Google Scholar 

  24. Anderson RU, Wise D, Sawyer T, Chan CA (2006) Sexual dysfunction in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: improvement after trigger point release and paradoxical relaxation training. J Urol 176:1534–1538 (discussion 1538–1539)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Trinchieri A, Magri V, Cariani L, Bonamore R, Restelli A et al (2007) Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Arch Ital Urol Androl 79:67–70

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Bartoletti R, Cai T, Mondaini N, Dinelli N, Pinzi N et al (2007) Prevalence, incidence estimation, risk factors and characterization of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in urological hospital outpatients in Italy: results of a multicenter case-control observational study. J Urol 178:2411–2415 (discussion 2415)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Lu M, Zhu CX, Wen JY (2008) Investigation of sexual function of patients with chronic prostatitis: a report from 374 cases. Chin J Hum Sex 17:16–18

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Chen ZB, Song YS, Cui J, Zhang H, Fei X (2009) Influence of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndromes on male health. Natl J Androl 15:1108–1111

    Google Scholar 

  29. Lan T, Wang YM, Chen Y (2009) Investigation of sexual dysfunction among chronic prostatitis patients in high altitude area. Natl J Androl 15:886–890

    Google Scholar 

  30. Hao ZY, Li HJ, Wang ZP, **ng JP, Hu WL et al (2011) The prevalence of erectile dysfunction and its relation to chronic prostatitis in Chinese men. J Androl 32:496–501

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Hou RP, Li J (2012) Analysis of the relationship between chronic prostatitis and premature ejaculation. Chin J Postgrad Med 35:30–31

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Wang X, Cui S, Gong ZY, Tang TL, Gu JQ (2013) The effects of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndromes on mental and sexual function. Chin J Androl 27:41–44

    Google Scholar 

  33. Chen ZB, Fu CZ, Cheng ZL, Lv TB, **e YF et al (2013) Sexual dysfunction related to chronic prostatitis. Chin J Hum Sex 22:27–29

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Zhang YF, Liang CZ, Hao ZY, Zhang XS, Zhou J et al (2013) Mental disorders in chronic prostatitis patients complicated with sexual dysfunction. Anhui Med Pharm J 17:1310–1312

    Google Scholar 

  35. Cai T, Pisano F, Magri V, Verze P, Mondaini N et al (2014) Chlamydia trachomatis infection is related to premature ejaculation in chronic prostatitis patients: results from a cross-sectional study. J Sex Med 11:3085–3092

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Tan JK, Png DJ, Liew LC, Li MK, Wong ML (2002) Prevalence of prostatitis-like symptoms in Singapore: a population-based study. Singap Med J 43:189–193

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Chung SD, Keller JJ, Lin HC (2012) A case-control study on the association between chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and erectile dysfunction. BJU Int 110:726–730

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Magri V, Wagenlehner F, Perletti G, Schneider S, Marras E et al (2010) Use of the UPOINT chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome classification in European patient cohorts: sexual function domain improves correlations. J Urol 184:2339–2345

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Zhao Z, Zhang J, He J, Zeng G (2013) Clinical utility of the UPOINT phenotype system in Chinese males with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS): a prospective study. PLoS One 8:e52044

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Davis SN, Binik YM, Amsel R, Carrier S (2013) Is a sexual dysfunction domain important for quality of life in men with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome? Signs “UPOINT” to yes. J Urol 189:146–151

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Samplaski MK, Li J, Shoskes DA (2011) Inclusion of erectile domain to UPOINT phenotype does not improve correlation with symptom severity in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Urology 78:653–658

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Gallo L (2014) Effectiveness of diet, sexual habits and lifestyle modifications on treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 17:238–245

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Shoskes DA, Prots D, Karns J, Horhn J, Shoskes AC (2011) Greater endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome–a possible link to cardiovascular disease. J Urol 186:907–910

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Zhao Z, Xuan X, Zhang J, He J, Zeng G (2014) A prospective study on association of prostatic calcifications with sexual dysfunction in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). J Sex Med 11:2528–2536

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Mo MQ, Long LL, **e WL, Chen S, Zhang WH et al (2014) Sexual dysfunctions and psychological disorders associated with type IIIa chronic prostatitis: a clinical survey in China. Int Urol Nephrol 46:2255–2261

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Bonierbale M, Lancon C, Tignol J (2003) The ELIXIR study: evaluation of sexual dysfunction in 4557 depressed patients in France. Curr Med Res Opin 19:114–124

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The medical writing and editorial assistance were provided by Dr. Qingjiao Liao of Medjaden Bioscience Limited, Hong Kong, China. This assistance was funded by MSD China. The authors initiated the concept for this meta-analysis and are responsible for the content of the manuscript.

Authors’ contribution

Kang contributed to protocol and project development. Kang and Li contributed to data collection. Kang and Li contributed to data analysis. Li contributed to manuscript writing and editing.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urological Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Bei**g, 100730, China

    Hong-Jun Li

  2. Department of Evidence-based Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guo Xue **ang, Chengdu, 610041, China

    De-Ying Kang

Authors
  1. Hong-Jun Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. De-Ying Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to De-Ying Kang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is not any conflict of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 131 kb)

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, HJ., Kang, DY. Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a meta-analysis. World J Urol 34, 1009–1017 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-015-1720-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-015-1720-3

Keywords