SERUM STEROIDS IN RELATION TO BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA

In order to investigate the endocrine etiology of benign prostatic hyp erplasia (BPH), we conducted a case-control study in Athens, Greece us ing 52 patients with histologically confirmed BPH and 52 healthy contr ols matched according to age and town of residence. Blood samples were collected from all participants and analyzed blindly in Boston, Mass. regarding testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone, estradiol (E2), sex hormone-binding globulin, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). Results from logistic regression models, adjusting for age, height, bo dy mass index, years of schooling, and mutually among the measured hor mones, indicate that DHEAS is significantly positively associated with the risk of BPH [odds ratio = 3.10 per standard deviation (60 mu g/dl ), 95% confidence interval (1.28, 7.50)]. T and E2 were not significan tly related to the risk of BPH.