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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
05:25
Ultrasonography of the Adult Male Urinary Tract for Urinary Functional Testing
Published on: August 14, 2019
Physiologic reactivity to a laboratory stress task among men with benign prostatic hyperplasia
Philip M Ullrich1, Susan K Lutgendorf, Karl J Kreder
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA. pullrich@u.washington.edu
Urology
|October 2, 2007
Summary
Psychological stress reactivity, measured by blood pressure and cortisol changes, is linked to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) severity. This suggests stress may worsen BPH symptoms and disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Endocrinology
- Psychophysiology
Background:
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) pathophysiology involves the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.
- These systems are reactive to psychological stressors, but their link to prostate function is understudied.
- Standardized stress paradigms have not been used to examine stress reactivity in relation to BPH.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between psychological stress reactivity and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) disease parameters.
- To explore how physiological responses to stress relate to objective and subjective measures of BPH.
Main Methods:
- 83 men with BPH underwent a standardized laboratory stress task.
- Measures included blood pressure, testosterone, and cortisol reactivity.
- Associations were analyzed between stress reactivity and BPH parameters (prostate volume, bladder volume, urine flow, symptoms, impact/bother scores).
Main Results:
- Greater diastolic blood pressure reactivity correlated with larger prostate volumes (transition zone and total), increased postvoid residual bladder volume, and more severe lower urinary tract symptoms.
- Higher blood pressure reactivity was also linked to greater self-reported impact scores.
- Elevated cortisol reactivity was associated with increased bother and impact scores for BPH symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Physiological stress reactivity is demonstrably associated with both objective and subjective BPH disease parameters.
- Findings support the hypothesis that stress conditions may contribute to the development or exacerbation of prostatic diseases.
- This highlights the potential role of stress management in BPH care.
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