title: Lower urinary tract symptoms, benign prostatic hyperplasia and metabolic syndrome.
abstract: Epidemiological studies have shown that age is the principal unmodifiable risk factor of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Until the past decade, the process of lower urinary tract ageing was, therefore, considered unmodifiable - as ageing per se. However, the traditional dogma that BPH-related LUTS (BPH-LUTS) is an immutable consequence of old age is no longer acceptable. Results from multiple preclinical and clinical studies indicate that several modifiable, age-related metabolic aberrations (metabolic syndrome, obesity, dyslipidaemia, diabetes) are important determinants in both the development and the progression of BPH-LUTS. Metabolic syndrome and its related comorbidities, such as sex steroid alterations and low-grade inflammation, have been related to BPH-LUTS development and progression. With the correct treatment and recommended lifestyle changes, many individuals with metabolic syndrome might be able to prevent or delay the onset of metabolic-syndrome-related complications; however, whether promoting healthier lifestyles can really alter a man's propensity to develop BPH-LUTS remains to be clarified.
authors.affiliation: Sexual Medicine and Andrology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vignozzi
authors.affiliation: Urology Department, Careggi Hospital, Largo Brambilla, 50134 Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gacci
authors.affiliation: Sexual Medicine and Andrology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, 50139 Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maggi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D059411:Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D012307:Risk Factors