Gender: Male
Aging Men Can Reduce Health Risks Through Physical Activity
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Our results suggest that moderate to vigorous physical activity may reduce the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) by as much as 25% relative to a sedentary lifestyle. Although the strength of the association appears to be greater with higher levels of activity, there was a non-significant trend toward a protective effect with even light physical activity. Adjustment for multiple confounders in the studies included in this analysis underscores the independence of the protective effect of physical activity on the BPH/LUTS complex.
The notion that physical activity and other modifiable lifestyle factors may alter the risks and severity of BPH and LUTS challenges traditional etiological paradigms and intimates the need for the development of new pathogenic models for the BPH/LUTS disease complex. The assumption that BPH and LUTS are relatively immutable consequences of aging—driven by a combination of genetic predisposition, androgens, and estrogens—underpins prior models. While genotype and hormones are important components, the relationship of physical activity with BPH/LUTS demands consideration of additional modulators of these processes.
It is possible that physical activity influences prostate growth pathways through alterations in hormone levels. However, we believe a more likely explanation is that physical activity exerts beneficial effects through improved cardiovascular health.
Men Seeking Vasectomy Reversals Can Expect High Rates of Success
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This retrospective study compared postoperative semen analysis parameters and patency rates of vasovasostomy performed in the convoluted versus straight portion of the vas deferens. This study was undertaken to assess whether or not the perceived increased technical difficulty that may be encountered resulted in a change in success rates.
Patient age, partner age, obstructive interval, gross and microscopic appearance of the intraoperative fluid aspirated from the testicular portion of the vas deferens, and postoperative semen analysis results were examined. Patency was defined as any sperm in the postoperative ejaculate and was compared for the 2 groups.
There were no significant differences in the postoperative semen analysis parameters of volume, total count, sperm density, motility or total motile count between the 2 groups. The patency rate was 98.1% and 97.3% for convoluted vasovasostomy and straight vasovasostomy, respectively, and was not statistically different.
Prostatitis May Effect Up To One-half of All Males During Their Lifetimes
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Estimates on the number of males in the United States who will experience prostatitis during their lifetimes range up to 50 percent. Many urologic disease experts feel that from 5 to 10 percent of males are experiencing prostatitis at a particular time, making it one of the most common urologic diseases in the U.S.
Prostatitis is an infection or inflammation of the prostate gland that causes intense pain, urinary complications, sexual dysfunction, infertility, and a significant reduction in the quality of life Prior to the mid-1990s, very little research had occurred that could lead to improved diagnostic techniques and a cure.
Prostatitis is difficult to diagnose and treat, and has a wide range of debilitating and troublesome side affects. Unlike prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis often affects the lives of young and middle-aged men.
Testosterone patch has benefits in aging men: study
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Treatment with testosterone can help curb the gain in abdominal fat as well as the loss of skeletal muscle seen in non-obese aging men, according to a new study.
“Though use of testosterone therapy as a means of defying the aging process is gaining popularity, data from scientific trials have been very limited in this area,” study chief Dr. Carolyn Allan, from Prince Henry’s Institute in Victoria, Australia, said in a statement.
Low testosterone in men linked to earlier death
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Older men with low levels of the hormone testosterone may die sooner than other men their age with normal testosterone levels, a study suggests.
Researchers found that among 794 generally healthy older men, those with the lowest testosterone levels were 40 percent more likely to die within the 1985-2004 study period.
Pain meds may worsen symptoms of enlarged prostate
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Common painkillers like ibuprofen and naproxen may act as a double-edged sword when it comes to men’s prostate function, according to a report in the Harvard Men’s Health Watch.
Recent evidence suggests that drugs such as these, called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), may lower the risk of developing an enlarged prostate and worsen urinary symptoms in men who already have the condition.
Young women less attentive to heart risks than men
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Young women with a family history of heart disease may be less careful about following a healthy lifestyle than their male counterparts, a study has found.
It’s well known that people with a parent or sibling who suffered a heart attack at a relatively young age are themselves at higher-than-average risk, so it is especially important for them to maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle—which includes exercising, eating a balanced diet and not smoking.
Migraine linked to heart attacks in men
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Men with migraine headaches are more likely than non-migraineurs to experience a heart attack, according to data from the Physicians’ Health Study.
The Physicians’ Health Study is a large study that enrolled men ages 40 to 84 years between 1981 and 1984. The subjects, who had no history of heart disease, cancer or other major illnesses at enrollment, complete questionnaires annually regarding health issues.
Male Breast Cancer: Racial Disparities in Treatment and Survival
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A new study shows that among men treated for breast cancer, African-American men are more likely to die of the disease compared with white men. Results of the study are published in the March 20, 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).
The studies by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center analyzed race and other predictors of treatment and survival among 510 men over 65 diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer between 1991 and 2002. The researchers found five-year survival rates of approximately 90% among 456 white men and 66% among 34 African-American men.
Older Adults May be Unreliable Eyewitness, Study Shows
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A University of Virginia study suggests that older adults are not only more inclined than younger adults to make errors in recollecting details that have been suggested to them, but are also more likely than younger people to have a very high level of confidence in their recollections, even when wrong. The finding has implications regarding the reliability of older persons’ eyewitness testimonies in courtrooms.
The study, “I misremember it well: Why older adults are unreliable eyewitnesses,” is published in a recent issue of the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
Vasectomy may put men at risk for type of dementia
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Northwestern University researchers have discovered men with an unusual form of dementia have a higher rate of vasectomy than men the same age who are cognitively normal.
The dementia is Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), a neurological disease in which people have trouble recalling and understanding words. In PPA, people lose the ability to express themselves and understand speech. It differs from typical Alzheimer’s disease in which a person’s memory becomes impaired.
Use of Mammograms in Men
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Many men have breast symptoms, including enlarged or painful breast tissue, but the majority do not need a mammogram, say researchers from Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. Mammograms are used to check for the presence of breast cancers, which are very rare in males.
Their study, presented Saturday, Dec. 16, at the 2006 meeting of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, suggests physicians should reconsider ordering mammograms for men, who are most often diagnosed with non-cancerous gynecomastia, a common condition which includes breast swelling, a tender mass or painful breast tissue.
“Mammography is being performed with increasing frequency in men with breast symptoms, but we found that breast cancer in men can be felt as a firm, discrete mass on a physical exam, or seen as changes in the skin or nipple,” says the study’s lead author, Stephanie Hines, M.D., of Mayo’s Multidisciplinary Breast Clinic and Breast Cancer Program in Jacksonville, Fla. Male breast cancer is exceedingly rare—fewer than 2,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with the condition annually, she says.
Study finds gender differences related to eating and body image
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Researchers have discovered a subtle new difference between men and women – this one occurring in the realm of eating.
In the new study of observed eating behavior in a social setting, young men and women who perceived their bodies as being less than “ideal” ate differing amounts of food after they were shown images of “ideal-bodied” people of their own gender.
Low testosterone may up death risk in male vets
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In a study of male veterans, low blood levels of the male hormone testosterone appeared to increase the risk of death in the next few years by 88 percent.
In an earlier study, Dr. Molly M. Shores from the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues had shown an increase in 6-month mortality among men with low testosterone levels. The goal of the present study was to examine this association in a larger group of men with up to 8 years of follow-up.
The study involved 858 male veterans who were at least 40 years of age, prostate cancer-free, and had repeated testosterone levels taken between October 1, 1994 and December 31, 1999.
Volunteer work may be good for seniors’ health
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Retirees who do volunteer work in schools may help not only children but their own health as well, a study suggests.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that older adults who served as mentors and tutors in their local elementary schools became more physically active in their daily lives.
Those who were sedentary before joining the volunteer program, called Experience Corps, more than doubled their physical activity levels during the school year, according to findings published online by the Journal of Urban Health.
