Alcohol Found to Lessen Risk for Enlarged Prostate


Risk is 35 percent lower for men who drink 36 grams or more of alcohol per day

27 sept 2009-- A man's risk of developing benign prostatic hyperplasia (BHP) decreases as his consumption of alcohol increases, but not the risk of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), according to a meta-analysis reported in the October issue of the Journal of Urology.

J. Kellogg Parsons, M.D., of the University of California San Diego, and colleagues screened 463 articles on alcohol intake, BHP and LUTS, and fully reviewed 33 articles before performing meta-analyses of 19 articles. The reviewers pooled data to assess the risk for BHP and LUTS for different levels of alcohol consumption.

The researchers calculated BHP risk in six strata defined by grams of alcohol per day: up to 5 gm/d, up to 12 gm/d, up to 15 gm/d, up to 24 gm/d, up to 36 gm/d, and more than 36 gm/d. Alcohol consumption was associated with a significant or marginally significant decrease in BHP risk for all six strata, with alcohol consumption of 36 gm or more daily associated with a 35 percent decrease in BHP risk compared to no alcohol consumption (odds ratio, 0.65). However, three of four studies that had a primary outcome of LUTS showed a non-significant trend toward increased likelihood of LUTS with increased alcohol consumption.

"Alcohol consumption is associated with a decreased likelihood of BPH but not of LUTS. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms by which alcohol modifies the risk of BPH," the authors write.

One study author reported financial relationships with two pharmaceutical companies.

Abstract
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