NSAIDS Cut Men's Risk of Developing an Enlarged Prostate

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have found that taking Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) helps prevent or delay enlargement of the prostate. Prostate enlargement, known medically as benign prostatic hyperplasia, is a very common condition affecting half of all men over the age of 60 and about eighty percent of men over 80 years of age.

2,447 Caucasian men were included in the study. The researchers, headed by Dr Jennifer St Sauver, are not sure why the drugs prevent or delay the risk of prostate enlargement. It may be that they reduce inflammation in the genitourinary tract, or reduce the growth of the prostate itself.

NSAIDs had been previously found to reduce risk of prostate cancer and although researchers found NSAIDs cut men's risk of enlarged prostate they did but did not recommend all men take them. NSAIDs can have significant side effects such as increased risk of stomach ulcers, problems with blood clotting and they can also increase asthma attacks in people at risk of the condition. More research is required to find out if their findings can be replicated.

St. Sauver, Jennifer L., Debra J. Jacobson, Michaela E. McGree, and Michael M. Lieber. "Protective Association between Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drug Use and Measures of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia ." American Journal of Epidemiology. 164(2006): 760-768.

Prostate Enlargement

Hematuria-Blood in Your Urine