SM = SM: The Interface of Systems Medicine and Sexual Medicine for Facing Non-Communicable Diseases in a Gender-Dependent Manner

Introduction: Complex non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disorders, are major causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The complexity of NCDs requires innovative, integrated, and interdisciplinary approaches for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention by adopting the new paradigm called systems medicine. A growing body of evidence suggests that sexual dysfunction in general and erectile and lubrication dysfunctions in particular are, in a sex-dependent manner, efficient predictors of overall systemic well-being. However, the relation between systems medicine and sexual medicine is not well defined.

Aim: To demonstrate that in combating the major NCDs, sexual health can be used as a surrogate marker of systemic health and can facilitate the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of NCDs.

Methods: A comprehensive review of peer-reviewed publications on the topic was performed through a PubMed search.

Main outcome measures: Because there is a strong biological basis for the developmental origins of health and disease not only in the early phases of development but also later in life, the identification of appropriate biomarkers is essential for monitoring these timelines and trajectories for better understanding NCD processes, risk stratification for NCD intervention, and prevention.

Results: In this review, I propose a novel approach in which sexual medicine can be used as a new tool to understand and manage NCDs and as a marker of systemic health. Moreover, the multipronged application of systems medicine to pathophysiologic changes leading to sexual dysfunction might sustain the growth of a young science such as sexual medicine.

Conclusion: This multilevel approach has the potential to suggest novel avenues for the comprehensive management of NCDs and sexual dysfunction in a sex-dependent manner. Jannini EA. SM = SM: The Interface of Systems Medicine and Sexual Medicine for Facing Non-Communicable Diseases in a Gender-Dependent Manner. Sex Med Rev 2017;5:349-364.