Medical history, sexual, and maturational factors and prostate cancer risk

Purpose Sexual, physical, and medical factors were investigated in a case–control study of prostate cancer. Methods This population-based study, conducted from 1995 to 1999 in northeastern Ontario, used cancer registry-identified cases (n = 760), aged 45 to 84 years, diagnosed between 1995 and 1998. Age-frequency matched controls (n = 1632) were obtained from telephone listings. Two separate logistic regression analyses considered: 1) sexual and physical; and 2) medical factors. Results For the sexual-physical model, marital status, family income, maximum height, number of marriages, having children, age at first marriage, birth, and needing to shave, and acne were not significantly related to risk. In the medical model, a family history of prostate cancer (OR, 2.99; 95% CI, 2.21–4.04) and history of venereal disease (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.27–3.53) were associated with significantly increased risk. A history of allergies (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.60–1.00), benign prostatic hyperplasia (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.49–0.81), and an annual physical exam (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.21–0.85) were associated with reduced risk. Other factors considered in the medical conditions model, body mass index, smoking non-filter cigarettes, and family income were not associated with prostate cancer. Conclusions This study is consistent with other studies that suggest that infectious agents may be involved in prostate cancer development.