Objective: To study the relationship of the long-term incidence rate of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) after vasectomy to age and time after operation.
Method: Questionnaire survey, physical examination, and ultrasonography were conducted among 850 healthy males, aged 55 - 76 who underwent vasectomy more than 20 years before and 390 healthy males, aged 53 - 75, who had not undergone vasectomy in Yichang, Hubei province, selected by randomized cluster sampling. The data such as international prostate symptom scoring (IPSS), quality of life (QOL) index, maximum urine flow rate (MFR), and average flow rate (AFR), digital rectal examination (DRE), volume of prostate gland (V), and residual urine (R) were analyzed.
Results: The general BPH incidence rate of the vasectomy group was 10.8%, significantly lower than that of the control group (40.8%, P < 0.01). The age-specific BPH incidence rates in the vasetomy group were all significantly lower than those of the control group, especially that of the subjects aged over 70 (10.8% vs. 56.5%, P < 0.001). The BPH incidence rate of those who had undergone vasectomy 25 years or over before was 7.8%, significantly lower than that of those who had undergone vasectomy 20 years before (13.2%, P < 0.05), but not significantly difference from that of those who had undergone vasectomy 30 years or over before (5.5%, P > 0.05). The volumes of prostate gland in all age subgroups were significantly smaller in the vasectomy group than in the control group.
Conclusion: Vasectomy reduces the incidence rate of BPH significantly.