A new study suggests that men who have problems falling and staying asleep may be at a higher prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is one of the leading concerns for men and sleep may become a potential target for intervention to lower the risk for prostate cancer.
The study included 2,102 men between the ages 67 to 96, who were part of the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik study. All of the men were prostate cancer free at the beginning of the study. Researchers asked the participants questions about sleep medications, whether they had trouble falling asleep, and whether they had a hard time falling back asleep after waking up in the middle of night or early in morning. 8.7% reported severe sleep problems and 5.7% reported very severe sleep problems.
Researchers followed the volunteers for five years. By the end of the study period, 6.4% developed prostate cancer. There was a 1.6 to 2.1-fold increased risk of prostate cancer among those with severe problems, and a 3-fold increased risk of advanced prostate cancer among those with very severe sleep problems. After taking into account sleep disturbances that may be caused by waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom (a potential sign of enlarged prostate or another prostate cancer risk factor), the results still remained the same. Larger, additional studies with longer follow-up times are called for to confirm the aspects of sleep disturbances and an increased prostate risk.
Always put your health first! If you have any problems with sleep, please consult with a licensed physician today.
Comments are closed.