A recent study investigated the role of testosterone (T) in chronic prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). However, only a small amount of data is available to date, and the results are inconsistent.
To evaluate the relation between total T (TT) and CP/CPPS.
We conducted a propensity-matched study by identifying men with a TT level lower than 3.5 ng/mL among 8,336 men in their 40s and 50s. A control group of men with a TT level of at least 3.5 ng/mL matched for age, metabolic syndrome, and body mass index at a 5:1 ratio was selected for comparison. Using the same cohort and methods, another case group (TT < 3.0 ng/mL) and control group (TT ≥ 3.0 ng/mL) were selected. The National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) was administered. A χ(2) test, a t-test and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relation between TT and prostatitis-like symptoms.
Association of TT with NIH-CPSI score.
After propensity score matching, 948 cases (TT < 3.5 ng/mL) and 4,740 controls (TT ≥ 3.5 ng/mL) were included. The ratio of mild and moderate to severe prostatitis-like symptoms was higher in the case group than in the control group (24.0% vs 27.4%, P = .001). The ratio of moderate to severe prostatitis-like symptoms also was higher in the case group than in the control group (6.2% vs 9.2%, P = .028). The pain domain of the NIH-CPSI, quality of life, and total NIH-CPSI scores also were higher in the case group. Ratios of severe lower urinary tract symptoms (12.6% vs 15.1%, P = .044) to maximal flow rate no higher than 10 mL/sec (3.8% vs 5.3%, P = .044) and postvoid residual urine volume of at least 100 mL (4.0% vs 5.6%, P = .035), which suggest high pressure in the prostate urethra, were higher in the case group. After adjusting for voided volume during uroflowmetry and total prostate volume, the relations of a TT level lower than 3.5 ng/mL to a maximal flow rate no higher than 10 mL/sec (odds ratio = 1.402, 95% CI = 1.017-1.934, P = .039) and to a postvoid residual urine volume of at least 100 mL (odds ratio = 1.410, 95% CI = 1.031-1.927, P = .031) were maintained. Using the cutoff TT value of 3.0 ng/mL, 437 cases (TT < 3.0 ng/mL) and 2,185 controls (TT ≥ 3.0 ng/mL) were included. The result of the 3.0-ng/mL cutoff value for TT showed a higher incidence of prostatitis-like symptoms in the group with a TT level lower than 3.0 ng/mL, but this was not statistically significant.
Low TT level (<3.5 ng/mL) was significantly correlated with prostatitis-like symptoms in this study.
The journal of sexual medicine. 2016 May 24 [Epub ahead of print]
Jun Ho Lee, Sung Won Lee
Department of Urology, National Police Hospital, Seoul, Korea., Department of Urology, Samsung Medical Center, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: .