Awareness and Self Care Practices of Elderly Men Regarding Prostate Diseases in Karachi, Pakistan

The prostate gland is a male sexual organ which has a number of diseases associated with it, such as prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and prostatic cancer (PC). BPH is the most common neoplasm, and it causes significant urinary symptoms in adult males. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report of 2014, out of all the cancers, PC had the fifth highest incidence in males throughout Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to determine the awareness of elderly men of Karachi regarding prostate diseases (PDs) and their attitude towards screening practices.

From September to December 2018, a cross-sectional study was performed among 450 men of Karachi older than 50 years of age. Frequencies and percentages were evaluated for categorical variables using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY). Chi-square test was used to determine if there was any significant difference. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant.

A total of 350 respondents answered the questionnaire. The mean age of the respondents was 61 years. Almost half of the population had heard about the prostate but 64% did not know any PDs, whereas 48% were aware of the increased risk of PDs in the elderly. Almost 48% of the respondents believed that age was the main cause of disorders involving the prostate. Even though the knowledge was lacking, people had an overall positive attitude. Most respondents (66%) had the attitude that all adult men must undergo prostate screening. The majority of respondents (85%) had not undergone screening of the prostate as the huge group of participants (86%) had not been advised to do it. Upon statistical testing, having heard about the prostate and undergoing prostate screening in the past (p = 0.008 and 0.024, respectively) was significantly associated with age. Having prior experience with prostate screening was also associated significantly with marital status (p < 0.001).

Respondents have inadequate knowledge about PC but a good attitude about undergoing prostate examination. It is absolutely crucial to increase information on the risks of PDs, particularly PC, and the benefits of early detection.