Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) in Serum in Relation to Blood Lead Concentration and Alcohol Consumption in Men

Abstract

The combined infl uence of age, smoking, alcohol, blood lead and cadmium concentrations, and serum copper, zinc, and selenium concentrations on prostate-specifi c antigen (PSA) in serum was investigated in a group of 57 men aged 21 years to 40 years. The subjects had no occupational exposure to metals and no other known reasons suspected of infl uencing prostate function or metal metabolism. No signifi cant correlation was found between PSA and any of the explanatory variables considered. Nevertheless, when taking into account all of the above-mentioned potentially explanatory variables, the results of stepwise multiple regression showed a signifi cant increase in PSA with respect to an increase in blood lead, and a decrease in PSA with respect to an increase in intensity of alcohol consumption. The median and range values of blood lead concentration in the 57 men were 26.0 µg L -1 and (10.1 to 108.0) µg L -1 , respectively. These results suggest that even a low-level environmental lead exposure, common for general populations worldwide, may contribute to the risk of prostate cancer in men. The infl uence of lead as well as cadmium, zinc, and selenium on prostate damage and PSA should be further investigated in relatively young men for the purpose of disease prevention.

Association of Prostate Specific Antigen Concentration with Lifestyle Characteristics in Korean Men

“…Although alcohol consumption has been extensively studied in relation to the risk of prostate cancer, findings on the direction of the association are equivocal (Platz et al, 2004), and there have only been a few previous studies on the relationship between PSA concentrations and alcohol consumption. While there are similar studies to ours that report a decrease in PSA associated with an increase in the intensity of alcohol consumption (Ukoli et al, 2003;Pizent et al, 2009), one study that investigated the association of PSA with excessive alcohol drinking gave opposite results (Ahmed et al, 2008). Our results support the theory that alcohol reduces hormonal promotion of prostate growth; that is, men who drink alcohol every day have sustained depression of testosterone relative to oestrogen (Platz et al, 2004) which would lead to decreased PSA.…”

Persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals in adipose tissues of patients with uterine leiomyomas and the association of these pollutants with seafood diet, BMI, and age

“…On the other hand, the patient group accumulated less Zn (patient group: 3.85 μg/g fat; control group: 5.34 μg/g fat) and Se (2.91; 5.01; p<0.01) than the control group, although the concentration difference was not very large (possibly due to the high toxicity, but low dose detected in human adipose tissue). Both are also potent antagonist to Cd and Pb and compete with Cd and Pb for absorption in the gastrointestinal tract (Peraza et al 1998;Pizent et al 2009). Zn is a cofactor of over 70 enzymes in the human body, including thymus enzymes and superoxide dismutatase, a potent anti-oxidant (Zaheer et al 2004;Ghayour-Mobarhan et al 2009), and Se is a cofactor of glutathione peroxidase, the most abundant enzyme in cell cytoplasm and a potent anti-oxidant (Moriarty et al 1998).…”

Reproductive Toxicity of Metals in Men

“…Moreover, exposure to cadmium, lead, and inorganic arsenic may contribute to prostate cancer development (62)(63)(64)(65)(66). Environmental exposure to cadmium and/or lead is associated with increased serum prostate specifi c antigen (PSA, Table 1) (67)(68). Most reports on detrimental infl uence of metals on reproductive health in men are from occupational studies with highlevels exposure (18)(19)(20).…”