Men who are physically active are at
lower risk of nocturia (waking up at night to urinate), according to a study
led by a Loyola University Chicago Stritch
School of Medicine researcher.
The study, by Kate Wolin,
ScD, and colleagues, is published online ahead of the print
edition in Medicine & Science in
Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of
Sports Medicine.
Nocturia is the most common and
bothersome lower urinary tract symptom in men. It can be due to an enlarged
prostate known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in which the enlarged
prostate squeezes down on the urethra. Other causes include overproduction of
urine, low bladder capacity and sleep disturbances. Nocturia increases with age
and is estimated to occur in more than 50 percent of men 45 and older.
Wolin and colleagues analyzed data
from a large, ongoing clinical trial called the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and
Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). Men ages 55 to 74 were eligible for the
trial. The study included questions on BPH-related outcomes, including enlarged
prostate, elevated PSA levels and nocturia. PLCO also asked men about physical
activity and other lifestyle factors.
Wolin’s analysis included 28,404 men
in the PLCO trial who had BPH outcomes before enrolling in the study (prevalent
group) and 4,710 men who had newly developed BPH (incident group).
Among men in the incident group,
those who were physically active one or more hours per week were 13 percent
less likely to report nocturia and 34 percent less likely to report severe
nocturia than men who reported no physical activity. (Nocturia was defined as
waking two or more times during the night to urinate; severe nocturia was
defined as waking three or more times to urinate.)
“Combined with other management
strategies, physical activity may provide a strategy for the management of
BPH-related outcomes, particularly nocturia,” Wolin and colleagues wrote.
There are several possible mechanisms
by which physical activity can protect against nocturia, including reducing
body size, improving sleep, decreasing sympathetic nervous system activity and
lowering levels of systemic inflammation.
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