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Epidemiology: Who's at risk?

Factors:

 

Age

The risk of developing Prostate cancer begins to increase at age 50 years in white men who have no family history of the disease and at age 40 years in African American men or men of any age who have a first-degree relative (father, brother) with prostate cancer.

 

Race

African American men have an incidence of prostate cancer that is 1.5 times that of whites. The Japanese and mainland Chinese populations have the lowest rates of prostate cancer. Interestingly, although Japanese immigrants to the United States have a higher incidence of prostate cancer than Japanese living in Japan, their rate is still about half that of US whites. Socioeconomic status appears to be unrelated to risk of prostate cancer, and the explanation for racial variability is unknown.

 

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Geography

The incidence of prostate cancer is highest in Scandinavian countries (22 cases per 100,000 population) and lowest in Asia (5 per 100,000). Risk may be inversely related to ultraviolet light exposure, as the incidence increases the farther one lives from the equator.

 

Family History

Men who have a first-degree relative with prostate cancer have approximately a two-fold increased risk of developing prostate cancer during their lifetime. An individual who has two first-degree relatives with prostate cancer has five-times the chance of developing prostate cancer in their lifetime then do men with no family history of prostate cancer.

True hereditary prostate cancer occurs in a very small number of men and tends to develop at a very early age (< 55 years old).

 

Dietary Fat

Studies have suggested that dietary fat may increase the risk of prostate cancer. However, no definitive proof of its role has yet been found.

 

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Vasectomy

Several laroe epidemiologic studies suggest that vasectomy may increase the relative risk of prostate cancer by as much as 1.85. However, these same studies do not report an increased risk of dying from prostate cancer associated with vasectomy but do indicate a statistically increased risk of dying from lung cancer. These findings argue against an association between vasectomy and prostate cancer. Currently, this association is unproven and does not constitute grounds for fundamental changes in the use of vasectomy.

 

Sexual Activity

There is no association between sexual activity in a man or sexually transmitted diseases and the incidence of prostate cancer.

 

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