Type 2 diabetes mellitus increases the risk of penile inflammatory disorders in men aged between 30 and 49: a 5-year follow-up study

Aims Diabetes can be an important cofactor in the development of penile inflammation. Here, we explored the association between penile inflammatory disorders and diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in the Taiwanese population, using a population-based data set. Methods The research data in this study were obtained from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database between January 1997 and December 2010. We identified 12,819 patients who had a diagnosis of DM, and randomly matched 38,457 subjects as controls. The data were analyzed with Poisson regression analysis and with Cox regression with a frailty model after propensity score matching. Results DM (odd ratio (OR) = 1.43, p < 0.01), and age (OR = 0.71, p < 0.01), but not hyperlipidemia (OR = 0.96, p =0.36), or hypertension (OR = 1.09, p = 0.10) had an impact on the development of penile inflammatory disorders. DM was a risk factor associated with penile inflammatory disorder (HR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.27~1.68, p < 0.01), whereas no statistical difference was noted between penile inflammation and hypertension (HR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.89~1.09) and hyperlipidemia (HR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.92~1.14). Conclusions T2DM and younger age, but not hypertension or hyperlipidemia, were associated with an increased risk of penile inflammatory disorders in men between 30 and 49 years of age. Our findings suggest the need for preemptive circumcision for selective men with diabetes may prevent diabetes-associated penile inflammatory disorders.