The epidemiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a study in Greece.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the epidemiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in a case-control study in greater Athens, Greece.


METHODS
The study comprised 184 patients surgically treated for BPH within one year of its diagnosis (cases) and 246 patients with no symptoms of BPH who were treated in the same hospitals for minor diseases or conditions (controls). All cases and controls were permanent residents of the greater Athens area, Greece. The data were assessed using unconditional logistic regression.


RESULTS
After controlling for age and education, cases and controls had similar distributions for height, body mass index, sibship size and birth order in the parental family, marital status, number of offspring and a series of previous medical diagnoses or surgical operations. The sole exception was surgery for haemorrhoids, that appeared to be related to the incidence of BPH, possibly by chance. There was no evidence that vertex baldness, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption or coffee drinking increased the risk for BPH. Men who had spent most of their lives in a rural rather than an urban environment appeared to be at reduced risk for BPH.


CONCLUSIONS
The lifestyle factors assessed here have no major effect on the aetiology of BPH.
Signorello
L B
LB
Department of Epidemiology and Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Tzonou
A
A
Lagiou
P
P
Samoli
E
E
Zavitsanos
X
X
Trichopoulos
D
D
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health