The association of metabolic syndrome and prostate-specific antigen

Abstract

Purpose: Recent studies have reported the association between metabolic syndrome and benign prostatic hyperplasia. This study was conducted to evaluate the relation between metabolic syndrome and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Materials and Methods: From January 2004 to December 2007, a total of 4,115 male outpatients (aged 40 to 79 years) who visited the health care center at our medical center were examined. Eligible men were classified according to the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome and the number of components of the metabolic syndrome. The association between the sum of metabolic syndrome components and PSA level was evaluated. The association between each metabolic syndrome component and PSA level was also evaluated. Results: The PSA level of metabolic syndrome patients was lower than that of the control group (p=0.022). An increased number of metabolic syndrome components was significantly associated with a linear, decreasing trend in PSA levels (p-trend=0.040). When a Pearson's correlation was performed, only obesity was inversely associated with PSA level in the metabolic syndrome group. There was no significant factor that was related to having a PSA level greater than or equal to 2.5 ng/ml. Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome should be considered as a factor associated with reduced PSA levels. If the patient with metabolic syndrome is obese, the PSA cutoff value should be lower than 4 ng/ml.