Racial Differences In Risk Of Prostate Cancer Associated With Metabolic Syndrome

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 15 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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UroToday.com - The metabolic syndrome is estimated to occur in 25-35% of U.S. adults and is defined by having >3 of the following 5 features; abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertension, and high fasting blood glucose. Studies suggest that the men with the metabolic syndrome are 50% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer (CaP). This report by Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer and colleagues in the online version of Urology examined the association between the metabolic syndrome, its specific features, and CaP in a hospital-based, case-control study of white and African-American (AA) men residing in Detroit, Michigan.

A total of 637 men diagnosed with CaP from 2001 to 2004, and 244 controls, were included for study. They all completed a 2-part interviewer-administered questionnaire and donated a blood sample for DNA analysis and PSA testing. The survey collected sociodemographic data, family history of CaP, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, height, weight, occupational history, diet, and vitamin use.

Patients were more likely than controls to report a family history of CaP (21 vs.13%). Smoking habits, vitamin intake and PSA screening history were similar between the CaP and control men. Significant racial differences were found in the presence of specific features of the metabolic syndrome. AA men had more hypertension and diabetes, but triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels were significantly greater for white men. Obesity did not differ by race. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (>3 features) did not differ by race. For all men, no significant differences were found between men with CaP and controls for the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome or any of its features. However, among white men, those with CaP were 50% less likely to be obese compared to controls, with no overall association among AA men. No other single syndrome feature was associated with CaP risk in either race group. Data stratification by race found metabolic syndrome to be marginally associated with an increased risk of CaP among AA men, but not among white men.

Beebe-Dimmer JL, Nock NL, Neslund-Dudas C, Rundle A, Bock CH, Tang D, Jankowski M, Rybicki BA
Urology. 2009 May 9. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2009.03.013

Written by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Christopher P. Evans, MD, FACS

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