BPH epidemiology and risk factors

Abstract

Benign enlargement of the prostate gland is extremely common with increasing age. The incidence of gross enlargement of the gland has been reported as 40% in 70 year‐old males. Microscopic foci can be found in 80%. The disease seems to be most common in blacks, Caucasians, and Jews, but less frequent in males from the Far East. Epidemiological studies are subject to many pitfalls, and the data have to be interpreted with great caution. The data from the World Health Organization indicate a marked drop in deaths from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) during the last 12‐year period. Increasing age and an intact androgen supply seem to be prerequisites for BPH development. Apart from that, no other risk factors have been identified uncontrovertedly.

Lignans and isoflavonoids in plasma and prostatic fluid in men: Samples from Portugal, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom

“…The epidemiological phenomena observed in migrating populations appear sufficiently quickly to suggest that dietary and environmental factors, rather than genetic ones, are responsible. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is said to be more common in elderly men from Western countries than in men from the East [13]. However, the prevalence of microscopic BPH, an early clinical event in the development of the disease, is the same in men of all races [14].…”

Die benigne Prostatahyperplasie - das Ergebnis einer altersbedingten Entgleisung der Androgen-Estrogen-Balance?

“…Fest steht z. Z. lediglich, daß Androgene sowohl fü r die embryonale Prostataentwicklung als auch fü r die Grö -ßen-und Funktionserhaltung der Prostata beim erwachsenen Mann erforderlich sind und daß die BPHEntwicklung eng mit dem Alter assoziiert ist [5,6]. Berry et al [5] konnten anhand von Autopsiestudien zeigen, daß bei Mä nnern vor deren 30.…”

Steroid Hormones and the Pathogenesis of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

“…The prevalence of these early microscopic changes increases with advanc ing age, and the data clearly suggest the involvement of common biological factors. The further progression of the disease to a clinically recognizable condition is more com mon in the United States, particularly in the black popula- tion, and in Western Europe, than in the Orient [6]. Envi ronmental or dietary habits may well play a role in the pathogenesis of BPH, or in its prevention [7][8][9], a concept supported by studies of Asian immigrants in the West.…”

“…Moreover, there is good evidence [6] that the incidence of BPH, like that of cancer of the prostate, is also influenced by race. The incidence of prostatic cancer is high in both North America and Northern Europe, but not in Japan, China, or the Philippines.…”