Association between leucocyte telomere length and erectile dysfunction in US adults: a secondary study based on 2001–2002 NHANES data

ObjectiveWe aimed to explore the association between the leucocyte telomere length (LTL) and erectile dysfunction (ED) among a nationally representative sample of US adults.DesignSecondary population-based study.SettingThe National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2001–2002).ParticipantsA total of 1694 male participants were extracted from the NHANES database for 2001–2002.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary focus of the study was to determine the association between the LTL and ED, using multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models for examination. The secondary outcome measures involved conducting stratified subgroup analyses to exclude interactions of different variables with the LTL.ResultsParticipants with ED had shorter LTLs than those without ED (p