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Male ‘weekend warrior’ more likely to have lower urinary tract symptoms
Men who engaged in light physical activity and sat for long periods of time were more likely to have lower urinary tract symptoms, according to findings recently published in the British Journal of Urology.
“Too much sitting is considered an emerging health risk factor for the development of chronic diseases,” Seungho Ryu, MD, PhD, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the School of Medicine at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea told Healio Family Medicine. “But the etiology and mechanism of lower urinary tract symptoms has not been fully elucidated.”
Researchers performed a cohort study of 69,795 men (mean age, 39.7 years) living in Korea who did not have lower urinary tract symptoms at baseline. These participants completed the Physical Activity Short Questionnaire to ascertain sitting and exercise times and filled out the International Prostate Symptom Score to provide details about their lower urinary tract symptoms every year for a mean of 2.6 years.
Ryu and colleagues found that during 175,810 person-years, 9,217 participants reported significant lower urinary tract symptoms (incidence rate = 39 per 1,000 person-years). In addition, the HR for lower urinary tract symptoms was 0.94 (95% CI, 0.89–0.99) among minimally active and health-enhancing physically active groups; in the inactive group HR was 0.93 (95% CI, 0.87–0.99). The HR of lower urinary tract symptoms for those who sat 5 to 9 hours a day was 1.08 (95% CI, 1–1.24) and for those who sat for more than 10 hours a day, HR was 1.15 (95% CI 1.06–1.24).
“The present cohort study showed that prolonged sitting time per se increased the risk of incident LUTS in addition to the effect of physical activity on LUTS. One possible explanation is that physical activity may protect against LUTS by decreasing resting sympathetic muscle tone, reducing systemic inflammation, antioxidant defenses, and endogenous hormonal factors, notably those related to the metabolic syndrome,” Ryu and colleagues wrote.
“[These results] support the importance of both reducing sitting time and promoting physical activity for preventing [lower urinary tract symptoms],” they added.
Researchers said they next plan to look at how the relationship between sitting time and physical activity is connected to PSA levels and prostate volumes. – by Janel Miller
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
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The findings in this study are interesting. We have known for several years that men who are more sedentary, obese, have hypertension, or metabolic syndrome tend to have a greater incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms than men who are active. The study by Park and colleagues adds to this body of research in that a man who is the weekend warrior — ones with a very high activity level on certain days, but then spends most of their days in chair — will actually have a greater incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms (urinary hesitancy, frequency, nocturia, etc.) as compared to those who are active throughout the workday. However, it is possible the results could be a bit skewed by patient recall.
Even with that possible limitation, considering Park and colleagues’ findings, I would encourage primary care physicians to tell their patients the same thing I do: what’s good for their heart is good for their prostate, so they should get up during the work day, eat right, strive for a low stress lifestyle, mitigate high blood pressure, and excessive cholesterol levels. PCPs might also want to advise their patients to stand while they are working or if that is not feasible, getting up a few times during the work day and walking around for a few minutes.