Purpose: Assessment of COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rate of male patients with prostatic hyperplasia depending on the intake of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5-ARI).
Materials and methods: In our study, electronic medical records of 1678 patients with prostatic hyperplasia were analyzed. 1490 men aged 71 (64-76) years were selected for final analysis. Vaccination against COVID-19 was carried out in 730 patients (49%). Treatment with 5-ARI inhibitors was carried out in 269 (18.1%) patients.
Results: Among 1490 included patients 790 (53%) had COVID- 19 while 360 (45.7%) of them required hospitalization. During the multivariate analysis, only two factors were associated with the risk of COVID-19 in the cohort studied: vaccination (odds ratio (OR) =0.095; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.074-0.122), i.e. a 90.5% chance reduction, p<0.001) and the fact of taking 5-ARI (OR=0.235; 95%CI=0.165-0.335; p<0.001), i.e. a 76.5% chance reduction. The duration of 5-ARI therapy was not associated with the incidence of new coronavirus infection. The severe course of COVID-19 which required hospitalization was positively associated with age (p=0.025) and the presence of coronary artery disease (p=0.004); and negatively associated with the frequency of vaccination (p<0.001) and treatment of 5-ARI (3.1% vs. 11.6%, p<0.001). In a multivariate analysis of outpatient patients with prostatic hyperplasia who had COVID-19, 5-ARI intake (OR=0.240; 95% CI 0.122-0.473; p<0.001) and vaccination (OR = 0.570; 95% CI 0.401-0.808; p=0.002). The factors associated with increased chances of hospitalization due to the severe course of COVID-19 were coronary heart disease (+43.8%, p=0.019) and older age (+1.7% by one year, p=0.046).
Conclusion: Taking 5-ARI, along with vaccination in patients with prostatic hyperplasia is a protective factor for morbidity and the severity of COVID-19.
Keywords: COVID-19; dihydrotestosterone; testosterone.