Relationship of serum sex-steroid hormones and prostate volume in African American men.
BACKGROUND
Previous epidemiologic investigations of the associations of sex-steroid hormones and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) have focused on predominately white populations. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential associations of body mass index (BMI), cigarette smoking, use of alcohol, and endogenous sex-steroid hormones with prostate volume in a population-based sample of African American (AA) men, ages 40-79 yr.


METHODS
A total of 369 AA men without clinical evidence of prostate cancer were identified in the Flint Men's Health Study by using a population-based sampling procedure. All subjects underwent a complete urologic evaluation that included prostate volume determination by transrectal ultrasonography and serum assays for androgens and estrogens.


RESULTS
After age adjustment, BMI (weight (kg)/height (m)2) was positively correlated with increasing levels of androstanediol glucuronide (AG), estradiol (E2), estrone sulfate (E1S), and the ratios of E2:total testosterone (TT) and E2:free testosterone (FT); however, increasing BMI was negatively correlated with androstenedione (AD), FT, TT, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Multivariable regression models demonstrated that prostate volume increased with age (P < 0.001) and BMI (P = 0.02) and decreased with increasing levels of SHBG (P = 0.01). Larger prostatic volumes were also marginally associated with increasing levels of TT (P = 0.058).


CONCLUSIONS
Circulating serum levels of SHBG and endogenous sex-steroid hormones are correlated with prostate volume and potentially impact the natural history of BPH. However, longitudinal studies are needed to demonstrate the temporal relationships of hormones and growth factors in the pathogenesis of BPH in AA men.
Joseph
Michael A
MA
Department of Epidemiology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2029, USA.
Wei
John T
JT
Harlow
Sioban D
SD
Cooney
Kathleen A
KA
Dunn
Rodney L
RL
Jaffe
Craig A
CA
Montie
James E
JE
Schottenfeld
David
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011467:Prostate / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000209:etiology; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000032:analysis; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D001741:Black or African American
D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol