Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter the Joyfm interview yesterday on Ultimate health program hosted by Nortey Dua. Sex and prostate cancer is currently trending . I have decided to write extensively on this subject . The prostate gland is a small gland but when diseased it has a huge repercussions on the quality of a man .
The prostate gland sits between two organs of elimination: the rectum and the urinary bladder. Being toxic, the surrounding organs, the prostate gland is vulnerable in absorbing these toxins. So to get these [ads1]toxins out Is to ejaculate whether through sexual intercourse or masturbation. Celebates are at higher risk of prostate cancer because of lack of sex.
Despite the importance of prostate cancer, its causes remain unknown. Scientists do know that genetics plays a strong role, and they have sound evidence that diet and other lifestyle factors are also important.
Since the prostate is a reproductive organ that produces fluid for the ejaculate, researchers have long wondered if sexual factors influence a man’s risk of prostate cancer, but a Harvard study provides good news for sexually active men.
The Harvard study
The Health Professionals Follow-Up Study has been collecting information about a large group of volunteers since 1986. All the men are health care providers, including dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, optometrists, ophthalmologists, and podiatrists. Most are white. In 1992, 29,342 men between the ages of 46 and 81 provided information about their average number of ejaculations per month in young adulthood (age 20–29), middle age (40–49), and in the most recent year. Ejaculations included sexual intercourse, nocturnal emissions, and masturbation. The volunteers provided comprehensive health and lifestyle data every two years until the study concluded in 2000.
The scientists found no evidence that frequent ejaculations mark an increased risk of prostate cancer. In fact, the reverse was true: High ejaculation frequency was linked to a decreased risk. Compared to men who reported 4–7 ejaculations per month across their lifetimes, men who ejaculated 21 or more times a month enjoyed a 31% lower risk of prostate cancer. And the results held up to rigorous statistical evaluation even after other lifestyle factors and the frequency of PSA testing were taken into account.
Data from Down Under
An Australian study of 2,338 men examined the impact of sexual factors on the occurrence of prostate cancer before the age of 70. Like the Harvard research, the Australian investigation evaluated total ejaculations rather than sexual intercourse itself. Like the American men, the Australians who ejaculated most frequently enjoyed a reduced risk of prostate cancer. The effect was strongest for the frequency of ejaculations in young adulthood, even though prostate cancer was not diagnosed until many decades later. Even so, the apparent protection extended to all age groups. In all, men who averaged 4.6–7 ejaculations a week were 36% less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer before the age of 70 than men who ejaculated less than 2.3 times a week on average.
Other links
The Australian study did not measure testosterone levels, but the Harvard study did. It found that men who ejaculated frequently tended to have higher testosterone levels than those who ejaculated less often — yet these were the same men who had a reduced risk of prostate cancer. Therefore, if there is any adverse effect of male hormones, it is offset by some protective effects linked to frequent ejaculation. Further study is needed to investigate possible protective mechanisms; in theory, at least, emptying the prostate of potentially irritating or harmful substances might be one such mechanism.
The Harvard study did not evaluate the number of sexual partners reported by the volunteers, but the Australian study did. It found no association, but an earlier study of 1,456 men living in King County, Washington, did find a link. Men who had sex with 30 or more women over their lifetime were two to three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than men with only one partner. Thirty partners may sound like a lot, but boasting did not seem to boost a man’s risk, since even a more modest exposure to two to four partners was associated with a 1.7-fold increase in subsequent prostate cancer.
The Harvard study did not report an effect of marital status, but the Australian research suggested that men who had never married may be at lower risk of prostate cancer than men who were married, divorced, or widowed. However, an American study of 146,979 men found that among men with diagnosed prostate cancer, those who were married had a better outcome than those who were divorced, widowed, or single. The researchers at the University of Miami who performed the study did not determine if sexual activity was involved in apparent protection, but since the subjects were elderly men with prostate cancer, it’s unlikely.
A piece of the puzzle
Prostate cancer is a puzzling disease, and its causes remain elusive despite intensive study. Doctors don’t know whether or not early diagnosis with PSA screening is beneficial. And al-though many methods of treatment are helpful, it’s not yet clear which is best.
The studies from the United States and Australia do little to answer these critical questions — but they do open a new avenue for research. Since both report that a high frequency of ejaculation early in adulthood has the greatest impact on the risk of prostate cancer decades later, they call attention to the role of events early in life, when the prostate is developing and maturing. There is certainly precedent for a long lag between cause and effect. For example, childhood sunburn is a major risk factor for malignant melanomas in adulthood, and prenatal factors that influence birth weight appear to influence the lifetime risk for hypertension and heart disease.
In 1807 William Wordsworth wrote, “The child is father of the man.” With respect to prostate cancer, though, sexual activity in adolescence may be a predictor of risk in adulthood.
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Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu is a research professor of Prostate cancer and Holistic Medicine at Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine, Larnaca city , Cyprus. Cal him on 0541234556.
