The Prostate & Diabetes
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland underneath the bladder in men that encircles the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body). In men the prostate can often begin to grow and tests have to be carried out to find out if this is benign or cancerous. If benign, it is called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and if not, it is probably a localised prostate cancer. But to date no tests have been found to be entirely reliable.
The pressure of the enlarged prostate may partially close the urethra causing various urinary problems, especially in older men.
BPH & Diabetes
A study published in the Journal of Urology in June 2000, showed that men with diabetes had symptoms of BPH worse than men without diabetes. The research study looked at 1,290 men with diabetes and 8,566 men without. Both groups of men were being prescribed medication for BPH.
The researchers compared the men’s BPH symptoms before and after the drug treatment and found that men with diabetes had more symptoms and a slower urine flow rate than those without diabetes. It showed that men with diabetes have symptoms as severe as non-diabetic men eleven years older and a urine flow rate the same as non-diabetic men seven years older.