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Fruit and vegetable consumption, intake of micronutrients, and benign prostatic hyperplasia in US men^1,2,3

¹ From the Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD (SR and EAP); the Division of Clinical Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany (SR); the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (WCW and EG); the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA (WCW and EG); and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (WCW and EG)

Background:Nutrients with antioxidant properties or that influence cell growth and differentiation might reduce the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Objective:The objective was to evaluate the association of fruit, vegetable, and micronutrient intakes with BPH.

Design:The participants were members of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and were aged 46–81 y in 1992. In 1992 and biennially thereafter, the men reported having surgery for an enlarged prostate, and in 1992 and on 3 subsequent questionnaires they completed the American Urological Association symptom index (AUASI). BPH cases were men who reported having surgery or who had an AUASI score of 15–35 (n = 6092). Control subjects were men who had not had surgery and never had an AUASI score >7 (n = 18 373). Men with a score of 8–14 were excluded (n = 7800). Intakes of fruit, vegetables, and antioxidants were assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire in 1986. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) of BPH and 95% CIs using logistic regression.

Results:Vegetable consumption was inversely associated with BPH (fifth compared with first quintile—OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.80, 0.99; P for trend = 0.03), whereas fruit intake was not. Consumption of fruit and vegetables rich in ß-carotene (P for trend = 0.004), lutein (P for trend = 0.0004), or vitamin C (P for trend = 0.05) was inversely related to BPH. With increasing vitamin C intake from foods, men were less likely to have BPH (P for trend = 0.0009). Neither - nor -tocopherol intake from foods was associated with BPH (P for trend = 0.05 and 0.84, respectively).

Conclusion:Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that a diet rich in vegetables may reduce the occurrence of BPH.

Key Words: Benign prostatic hyperplasia • micronutrients • fruit • vegetables

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