Physically Active Men at Lower Risk of Nocturia

Staying physically fit reduces chances of nocturia in men, a new research states.

Nocturia is a common lower urinary tract symptom in men, where one gets up to uriante in the night. It can be due to an enlarged prostate known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in which the inflamed prostate squeezes down on the urethra. The condition develops with age and is estimated to occur in more than 50 percent of men 45 and older.

For the study, the researchers at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine assessed the data of 28,404 men in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). The team found that men who were physically active and exercised one or more hours every week were 13 percent less likely to report nocturia and 34 percent less likely to report severe nocturia than men who reported no physical activity.

"Combined with other management strategies, physical activity may provide a strategy for the management of BPH-related outcomes, particularly nocturia," lead researcher Kate Wolin, ScD, and colleagues wrote in the study.

Past researches have shown that declining body size, improved sleep, decreasing sympathetic nervous system activity and lowering levels of systemic inflammation could protect against nocturia.

According to the researchers, more studies are required to find out the "dose of physical activity necessary and the mechanisms that might underlie the association" between exercise and nocturia.

The findings of the study, 'Physical Activity and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia-Related Outcomes and Nocturia' are published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.