Benign prostatic hyperplasia associated with white matter hyperintensities in men

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) describes common noncancerous prostate enlargement. BPH is usually associated with lower urinary tract symptoms and an increased risk of cerebrovascular diseases, such as stroke and its recurrence. White matter hyperintensities (WMHs), markers of cerebral injury, increase the risk of stroke, cognitive impairment, dementia, and death. The relationship between BPH and WMHs remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the association between BPH and WMHs. A total of 788 male patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from July 2019 to September 2021 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. BPH was assessed by abdominal ultrasound, and three independent neuroradiologists rated the presence or absence of WMHs. Multiple imputations of chained equations were used to handle missing data. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between BPH and WMHs. Patients with BPH presented an increased risk of WMHs with a crude odds ratio (OR) of 2.76 (95% CI, 2.02–3.79) and an adjusted OR of 1.75 (95% CI, 1.24–2.48) after controlling for potential confounding factors in the multivariate logistic regression. We found that BPH was closely associated with WMHs in male Chinese individuals. •Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the most common age-related urological disease.•Cerebrovascular disease is the second leading cause of disability and death.•White Matter Hyperintensities (WMHs) were highly prevalent in old men.•Benign prostatic hyperplasia was significantly associated with WMHs.