Vitamin D and benign prostatic hyperplasia -- a review

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a more common form of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). BPH is due to the excessive growth of both stromal and epithelial cells of the prostate. Fifty percent of men over the age of 50 will have this disease, along with the probability that 90% of men at the age of 80 will have an enlarged prostate. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the male urological population may represent a connection between BPH and vitamin D.

This review is geared to provide the most relevant data on the correlation between vitamin D and BPH. A comprehensive review was conducted on all studies on the specific topic and compiled into a complete article.

Data suggests that vitamin D has an inhibitory effect on the RhoA/ROCK pathway, along with cyclooxygenase-2 expression and prostaglandin E2 production in BPH stromal cells. Increasing intake of vitamin D from diet and supplements has shown a correlation with decreased BPH prevalence. Vitamin D analogues of up to 6000 IU/day have shown to decrease prostate volume in BPH patients. Pre-clinical trials have shown vitamin D to not only decrease BPH cell and prostate cell proliferation alone, but also when induced by known growth promoting molecules such as IL-8, Des (1-3) IGF-1, testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. Among all the studies there has not been any side effects or negative implications with increased vitamin D intake.

The impact of vitamin D on prostate volume and BPH has shown promising results, thus proposing further studies on vitamin D and BPH be conducted.