title: Prostate volume changes over time: results from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  According to a 1944 publication by Swyer benign prostatic hyperplasia develops in some men after age 45 with further prostatic growth whereas in other men prostate size remains stable or decreases with advancing age. Although there is an abundance of literature describing prostatic enlargement in association with benign prostatic hyperplasia, less is known about the phenomenon of prostate atrophy.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging serial pelvic magnetic resonance imaging was performed in men without prostate cancer beginning in 1993. From this population we retrospectively identified 278 men with 2 or more magnetic resonance imaging determined prostate volume measurements to examine differential growth rates in a cohort of community men over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median age was 58 years and median prostate size was 28 cc at study entry. At a median followup of 4.3 years prostate size increased in 61.9% and remained stable or decreased in 38.1% of men. The median rate of volume change was 0.6 cc per year (range -9.9 to 62.1), corresponding to a median growth rate of 2.5% per year (range -29.2 to 176.4%). During followup 64.6% of men with an initial prostate size less than 40 cc had prostate growth compared to only 50.9% of men with an initial prostate size of 40 cc or greater.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that changes in prostate size are highly variable among aging men. Although benign prostatic hyperplasia is common, a considerable proportion of aging men have a stable or decreasing prostate size. Further research is needed to identify the underlying mechanism for such differences in prostate growth.
authors.affiliation: James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. stacyloeb@gmail.com
authors.forename: Stacy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loeb
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kettermann
authors.forename: H Ballentine
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
authors.forename: E Jeffrey
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Metter
authors.forename: Patrick C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Walsh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D011467:Prostate / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013997:Time Factors
references.citation: J Androl. 1999 Jul-Aug;20(4):474-80
references.pmid: 10452590
references.citation: Int J Urol. 2007 Apr;14(4):321-4; discussion 325
references.pmid: 17470162
references.citation: J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1992 Nov-Dec;16(6):935-40
references.pmid: 1385499
references.citation: Br J Urol. 1994 Nov;74(5):596-600
references.pmid: 7530124
references.citation: J Urol. 1999 Apr;161(4):1174-9
references.pmid: 10081864
references.citation: Prostate. 1993;22(1):39-42
references.pmid: 7678931
references.citation: J Urol. 2002 Jun;167(6):2484-7; discussion 2487-8
references.pmid: 11992063
references.citation: Prostate. 2007 Dec 1;67(16):1816-24
references.pmid: 17935157
references.citation: J Urol. 2006 Jan;175(1):217-20; discussion 220-1
references.pmid: 16406915
references.citation: J Urol. 2006 Mar;175(3 Pt 1):1018-22; discussion 1022
references.pmid: 16469608
references.citation: J Urol. 2008 May;179(5 Suppl):S75-80
references.pmid: 18405761
references.citation: Urology. 1999 Mar;53(3):473-80
references.pmid: 10096369
references.citation: J Anat. 1944 Jul;78(Pt 4):130-45
references.pmid: 17104953
references.citation: JAMA. 1992 Apr 22-29;267(16):2215-20
references.pmid: 1372942
references.citation: J Urol. 1984 Sep;132(3):474-9
references.pmid: 6206240
references.citation: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Sep;14(9):2257-60
references.pmid: 16172240