Risk factors for prostate cancer: a case-control study in Greece

A case-control study of prostate cancer (PC) was undertaken in Athens, Greece. Cases were 320 patients with histologically confirmed incident disease, whereas controls were 246 patients without history or symptomatology of benign prostatic hyperplasia, treated in the same hospitals as the cases for minor diseases or conditions. Cases and controls had similar distributions with respect to height, body mass index, sibship size and birth order in the parental family, marital status and number of offspring in the subject's own family and a long series of previous surgical operations and medical diagnoses, including diabetes mellitus, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases. There was also no evidence for a positive association between vertex baldness, tobacco smoking and drinking of coffee or alcoholic beverages, on the one hand, and PC, on the other. There was evidence, however, that some aspect of urban life may increase the risk for PC and a suggestion that sexual activity in early adulthood may be inversely associated with this risk.