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Clinical Research

Body mass index and risk of BPH: a meta-analysis

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases volume 15, pages 265–272 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

Epidemiological studies have reported conflicting results relating obesity to BPH. A meta-analysis of cohort and case–control studies was conducted to pool the risk estimates of the association between obesity and BPH.

Methods:

Eligible studies were retrieved by both computer searches and review of references. We analyzed abstracted data with random effects models to obtain the summary risk estimates. Dose–response meta-analysis was performed for studies reporting categorical risk estimates for a series of exposure levels.

Results:

A total of 19 studies met the inclusion criteria of the meta-analysis. Positive association with body mass index (BMI) was observed in BPH and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) combined group (odds ratio=1.27, 95% confidence intervals 1.05–1.53). In subgroup analysis, BMI exhibited a positive dose–response relationship with BPH/LUTS in population-based case–control studies and a marginal positive association was observed between risk of BPH and increased BMI. However, no association between BPH/LUTS and BMI was observed in other subgroups stratified by study design, geographical region or primary outcome.

Conclusions:

The overall current literatures suggested that BMI was associated with increased risk of BPH. Further efforts should be made to confirm these findings and clarify the underlying biological mechanisms.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30801370).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    S Wang, Q Mao, Y Lin, J Wu, X Wang, X Zheng & L Xie

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  1. S Wang
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Correspondence to L Xie.

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Wang, S., Mao, Q., Lin, Y. et al. Body mass index and risk of BPH: a meta-analysis. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 15, 265–272 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/pcan.2011.65

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