Dioxin exposure and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
OBJECTIVE
Dioxins decrease prostate weight, reduce androgen responsiveness, and inhibit prostate morphogenesis in rats. We assessed the association of dioxins and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in participants in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 1999-2000.


METHODS
Forty-two participants were classified as having BPH and 99 were classified as controls. Dioxin exposure was expressed as dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQ). Age, body mass index, waist circumference, race/ethnicity, smoking, physical activity, and education were assessed as potential confounders.


RESULTS
After age adjustment, men without BPH had 20.9% higher TEQs (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.4-38.7%) as compared with men with BPH. On weighted, multivariate, logistic regression analyses, men with higher dioxin levels had lower odds of having BPH (odds ratio = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.08-0.62).


CONCLUSIONS
Dioxin exposure in the general population may be associated with decreased odds of BPH. Our study findings need to be confirmed.
Gupta
Amit
A
Department of Urology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390-9110, USA.
Schecter
Arnold
A
Aragaki
Corinne C
CC
Roehrborn
Claus G
CG
D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection; D004147:Dioxins / Q000506:poisoning*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000139:chemically induced*; D014481:United States
D004147:Dioxins