Relationship between Prostate Specific Antigen and Body Mass Index among Men in Lagos, South West Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Obesity and overweight are health problems marked by excess adiposity which contribute to a number of preventable deaths and are significant risk factors for many chronic diseases including cancer. Prostate‑specific antigen (PSA) has been used over the years to screen, diagnose, and monitor the treatment of prostate cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and PSA levels. Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional study of 125 overweight, 77 obese men and 78 controls aged 40–89 years was conducted in Lagos, South West Nigeria. The BMI, abdominal circumference (AC) serum total, and free PSA (tPSA; fPSA) were determined. Spearman correlation was used to determine the relationship between PSA and BMI and a significant level of p < 0.05 was used. Results: Participants with AC ≤102 cm had a higher median tPSA of 1.20 ng/ml (0.93, 1.55) than participants with AC >102 cm with a p = 0.006, but their median fPSA did not show any difference. The median tPSA among controls was higher than that of overweight and obese participants with p = 0.008 and p = 0.000, respectively. The control group had a higher median fPSA than the obese group (p = 0.029). There was also a significant negative correlation between tPSA and BMI (r − 0.30, p = 0.00) as well as between fPSA and BMI (r − 0.14, p = 0.01). Conclusion: The serum PSA levels in obese and overweight men are significantly lower than those of the controls. This can potentially prevent early detection of prostate cancer when using serum PSA as a screening tool in overweight and obese men.