A research team at Seoul National University Boramae Hospital has discovered that adult males can prevent benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by maintaining an adequate level of high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in the blood.

Professor Yoo Sang-joon’s team at Seoul National University Boramae Hospital has discovered that increasing high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol can lower the risk of prostatic hyperplasia. (SNUH)

HDL cholesterol transports waste products accumulated in the walls of blood vessels to the liver, preventing various vascular diseases. It means that unlike other cholesterol, higher levels of HDL cholesterol can help the body.

Using the National Health Insurance Corporation database, the research team, led by Professor Yoo Sang-joon at the hospital, analyzed clinical data of 48,539 adult males in their 40s or older who had undergone a medical examination in 2009 to evaluate the optimal HDL level for preventing BPH.

During the period, researchers classified patients with a history of BPH and derived the disease's prevalence. Afterward, they divided the patients' HDL levels into four stages – under 40 mg/dL, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, and over 60- and compared and analyzed BPH's risk according to HDL levels.

As a result of the analysis, the team found that high HDL levels were significantly associated with reduced BPH risk.

The prostate hyperplasia hazard ratio (HR) for patients with an HDL level of above 60 mg/dL was 0.922, which was lower than that of patients who had an HDL level below 40.

Notably, as a result of comparative analysis of risk differences according to age group, the risk reduction rate of BPH according to high HDL level of 60 or more was found to be the highest in patients in their 40s, proving that the higher the HDL level at a young age, the greater the effect of preventing BPH in the future.

"This study confirmed that maintaining high HDL cholesterol levels above 60 mg/dL has a significant effect on preventing prostatic hyperplasia," Professor Yoo said. "The younger the men, the greater the prevention effect. So we recommend middle-aged men to maintain HDL levels at an appropriate level through improved lifestyle habits."

The results of the study were published in the May edition of the journal, Prostate.

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