Lifestyle factors not linked to chronic prostatitis/pelvic pain

(HealthDay)—Body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, cigarette smoking, and hypertension are not associated with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, according to a study published in the November issue of The Journal of Urology.

Ran Zhang, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues examined the correlation between lifestyle factors and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvis pain syndrome using data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, involving 51,529 men aged 40 to 75 years at baseline in 1986. Participants completed questionnaires on lifestyle and health conditions at enrollment and every two years thereafter. In 2008 they answered additional questions relating to recent chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome modified from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI). Associations were examined for 653 participants with NIH-CSPI scores of 8 or greater (incident cases) and 19,138 who did not report chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (noncases).

The researchers found that baseline body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, cigarette smoking, and hypertension were not associated with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome risk (each odds ratio, ≤1.34).

"As the etiology of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome remains unknown, additional prospective studies are needed to elucidate modifiable risk factors for this common condition," the authors write.

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