[pronut-hiv] Dietary Factors May Affect Risk for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

["ProNut-HIV" <pronut-hiv@healthnet.org>]

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/523076

Feb. 7, 2006 * Dietary factors may affect risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), according to the results of a case-control study reported in the January issue of Urology. Cereals and some meats increase risk, as does a lack of certain fruits and vegetables.

"Although BPH is an extremely common condition, particularly among older men, its risk factors, including dietary ones, remain largely undefined," write Francesca Bravi, MD, from the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri" in Milan, Italy, and colleagues. "Milk and dairy products have been related to an increased BPH risk, and fruit has been reported to have a protective effect against BPH. Other food groups, including meat and vegetables, have been analyzed in relation to BPH, but the results have not been consistent."

The investigators compared 1,369 patients younger than 75 years of age who were surgically treated for BPH with 1,451 controls younger than 75 years of age who had been admitted to the same hospitals for a variety of acute, nonneoplastic conditions. Using a validated and reproducible food frequency questionnaire, including 78 foods and beverages and a separate section on alcoholic beverages, the investigators evaluated patients' dietary habits 2 years before diagnosis or hospital admission. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) were adjusted for energy intake and other major potential confounding variables.

There was a significant trend of increasing risk with more frequent consumption for cereals (OR, 1.55 for the greatest vs lowest quintile), bread (OR, 1.69), eggs (OR, 1.43), and poultry (OR, 1.39). In contrast, there were inverse associations for soups (OR, 0.74), pulses (ie, green peas, beans, and lentils; 0.74), cooked vegetables (OR, 0.66), and citrus fruit (OR, 0.82). Milk and yogurt products, coffee and tea, pasta and rice, fish, cheese, raw vegetables, potatoes, fruit, and desserts did not appear to affect risk for BPH.

Study limitations include those inherent in case-control studies, including information bias, selection bias, and lack of generalizability to outpatient or healthy populations. Other weaknesses were the lack of a well-accepted clinical case definition for BPH and possible misclassification of controls.

"The results of this study suggest a role for dietary habits on the risk of BPH," the authors write. "In particular, a diet rich in cereals and some types of meat and poor in vegetables and pulses may have an unfavorable effect in this Italian population."

The Italian Association for Cancer Research and the Italian League Against Cancer supported this study.

Urology. 2006;67:73-79