Aging & Health A to Z

Prostate Diseases

Causes & Symptoms

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
Testosterone, the male hormone, produces byproducts as it breaks down that may cause the prostate gland to enlarge. Over a lifetime, the tissues in the gland may swell to such an extent that the urethra is squeezed by the expanding prostate, and becomes pinched and narrow. Often irritation occurs. This makes it difficult to urinate, even when your bladder is full. BPH risk factors include:

• Advancing age.

• Family history of BPH.

• Race - American and Australian men are at higher risk than Asian men. 

Prostatitis
This condition is sometimes caused by a bacterial infection. The bacteria may already in your stomach and intestines, bacteria that have infected the urinary tract, or other bacteria.. This scenario is more likely in younger patients. In older men, the infection may be caused by catheters remaining in place for long periods of time during hospitalization or a period of disability. Most often (in up to 80% of cases) no bacteria are ever found. Prostatitis may occur in an acute form—a sudden infection that does not linger once it is treated—or a more chronic form that may last for months or even longer. Risk factors for prostatitis are:

• having a urinary tract or bladder infection
• injuries to the pelvis
• a past episode of prostatitis
• dehydration
• unprotected sexual intercourse
• being catheterized (having a tube inserted into the urethra to drain urine)
• genetic inheritance
• stress
• infection with HIV. 

Prostate Cancer
The causes of prostate cancer are unknown, but some risk factors that have been identified are:

• race – Black American men have a much higher rate of prostate cancer than White American men
• family history
• history of sexually transmitted disease
• older age
• diet high in animal fats. 

In men of African-American ancestry, prostate cancer appears to develop at a younger age, is more advanced when it is found, and has a higher death rate than in all other races. Also, if your father or a brother has had prostate cancer, your risk of getting it is doubled. If two close relatives have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, your risk is eight times higher. 

Symptoms and Warning Signs

Prostate diseases cause symptoms related to:

• obstruction (weak or interrupted urine stream, slow start, feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder)
• irritation (frequency, urgency, going to the bathroom at night). 

The most common symptoms of BPH are:

• frequent urination
• sudden need to urinate (urgency)
• difficulty starting to urinate
• urinary incontinence (inability to get to the bathroom in time)
• urinating at night
• dribbling after you finish urinating
• a feeling that your bladder has not emptied completely
• straining to urinate or trying to force the urine out
• pain while your urinate
• blood in the urine
• a weak stream of urine. 

Older men with prostatitis may experience:

• middle or lower back pain
• frequent urination
• urgency
• pain or burning with urination
• need to urinate at night
• pain or discomfort in the area between the scrotum and rectum
• no symptoms at all. 

If the prostatitis was brought on by an infection, you may also have fever and chills. Stubborn urinary tract infections may also occur with prostatitis. 

Men with early stages of prostate cancer usually have no symptoms. In later stages, irritation from spreading cancer may cause:

• urinary incontinence
• blood in the urine
• pain around the pelvic area or in locations where the cancer has spread
• impotence
• anemia
• back pain
• bone pain
• fractures
• swelling in the legs.

Updated: May 2012
Posted:  May 2012