Introduction
Hypertension is a major health problem, affecting more than 1.1 billion people worldwide and causing significant vascular damage ( Tsoutsos & Kotsis, 2023 ). Cardiovascular diseases and organ dysfunctions develop in the later stages of hypertension. Therefore, it is very important to detect hypertension-related endothelial dysfunction and thus the atherosclerotic process at an early stage to prevent complications that may develop ( Karakurt et al., 2020 ). One of these complications is erectile dysfunction (ED). Erectile dysfunction is defined as the inability to achieve and/or maintain an erection continuously for at least 3 months for a satisfactory sexual intercourse. The prevalence in the general population is reported to be 50% after the age of 40 ( De Oliveira & Nunes, 2021 ). However, it is estimated that 322 million men will be affected by this disease by 2025 ( Kessler et al., 2019 ; Yafi et al., 2016 ; Cantone et al., 2022 ). ED not only affects sexual life in men, but also negatively affects the social, economic and psychological life of the individual ( Ates et al., 2020 ; Karakurt et al., 2020 ). The etiology of erectile dysfunction involves multifactorial factors such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, decreased physical activity, heart disease, smoking and polypharmacy ( Wang et al., 2021 ; Teixeira & Soares, 2020 ; Tsoutsos & Kotsis, 2023 ). Endothelial dysfunction caused by hypertension can lead to erectile dysfunction if atherosclerotic vasculature occurs in the penile artery ( Karakurt et al., 2020 ).

This condition, caused by hypertension, often poses a risk to patients when it goes unrecognized and therefore untreated ( Corradetti et al., 2022 ). In this situation, both hypertension needs to be managed effectively and ED needs to be addressed with appropriate treatment options. While several classes of antihypertensive drugs, including mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, centrally acting drugs, β -blockers and diuretics, commonly cause erectile dysfunction ( Altunören et al., 2019 ; Manolis et al., 2020 ), ED is also reported to be high in male patients with risky lifestyles such as sedentary lifestyle, diet, obesity, smoking habit and high alcohol consumption ( Hernández-Cerda et al., 2020 ; Rezali et al., 2023 ).

Smoking cessation, weight loss and maintenance, regular physical exercise (especially aerobic exercise), stress management, reduction of salt and alcohol consumption, and dietary changes (Mediterranean diet) are common lifestyle change measures to reduce hypertension, the risk of ED and the risk of hypertension-related cardiovascular complications ( Carella et al., 2023 ). Therefore, it is very important to evaluate and treat ED, which has many risk factors, from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Understanding the extent of ED and the contributing risk factors among male patients with hypertension is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies. Thus, this study aims to assess the prevalence of ED and its associated factors in hypertensive male patients.

Research questions:

1. What is the level of erectile dysfunction in hypertensive men?

2. What is the relationship between personal data and erectile dysfunction in hypertensive men?

3. What is the relationship between medications used by hypertensive men and erectile dysfunction?