BJU Int. 2008;101:853-860
A diet high in vegetable intake is associated with a lower risk of surgically treated BPH, according to Australian researchers.
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The finding comes from a study of 406 BPH cases with 462 controls (both groups aged 40-75 years). Controls had no history of prostate cancer or surgery for BPH. The investigators identi-
fied three dietary patterns (“vegetable,” “Western,” and “health conscious”) based on their usual dietary intake 10 years earlier.
The “vegetable” pattern, characterized by a high intake of vegetables, was associated with high intakes of beta-carotene, folate, fiber, carbohydrate, and vitamin C intake, according to the researchers. The “Western” pattern included a high consumption of meat and dairy products and correlated strongly with intake of energy, protein, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and zinc.
The “health conscious” pattern, characterized by greater consumption of fish and chicken and such food items as tofu, legumes, mangos, and avocados, was associated with low intakes of all macronutrients, especially saturated fat.
The researchers, led by Gina L. Ambrosini, MPH, of the University of Western Australia in Perth, found that compared with subjects in the lowest quartile of the “vegetable” dietary pattern, those in the highest quartile had a 32% lower risk of surgically treated BPH.
In addition, the investigators looked at individual food groups and found a significant inverse relationship between risk of surgically treated BPH and consumption of total vegetables, dark yellow vegetables, tofu, and red meat. Increasing intake of high-fat dairy foods was associated with a higher risk of surgically treated BPH, the study found.
