Objective: To conduct a study to determine whether diabetes treatment is associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)/lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and progression in black and white men. Diabetes has been associated with BPH and LUTS in aging men.
Methods: Using the Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status among Men and the Flint Men's Health Study, we examined how the use of medical therapy (eg, insulin regimens, oral hypoglycemics) related to changes in LUTS severity, maximal urinary flow rate measured by uroflowmetry, prostate volume determined by transrectal ultrasonography, and serum prostate-specific antigen concentrations.
Results: Of the 2226 men participating in the Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status among Men and the Flint Men's Health Study, 186 men reported a history of diabetes, 76.9% of whom were treated with medical therapy. Overall, the men with diabetes had significantly greater odds of moderate/severe LUTS (age- and race-adjusted odds ratio 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.87) compared with those without diabetes. However, among the diabetic men, those not taking medication had greater odds of moderate/severe LUTS than those taking medication. This association among men not taking medication was seen for 5 of the 7 individual symptoms. The prostate volume and prostate-specific antigen level were not significantly associated with diabetes treatment. No significant differences were observed for the annual change in BPH characteristics by diabetes treatment status.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that the presence of diabetes and subsequent poor glycemic control might be less related to prostate growth and more to the dynamic components of lower urinary tract function. Additional evaluations of the associations between glycemic control and BPH progression are warranted.
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