Improving your physical fitness may reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer by more than a third, according to new research.
Researchers found that people who improved their cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) by more than 3 percent per year were up to 35 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer.
The Swedish team behind the study hopes the findings, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, will encourage men to improve their fitness to avoid the disease.
Although there are relatively few known risk factors for prostate cancer, prostate cancer accounts for nearly 15% of all cancer deaths in men in the UK, and caused more than 12,000 deaths nationwide between 2017 and 2019. A man died.
King Charles recently underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate, but it has not been revealed whether he had cancer.
Although there is existing evidence for the beneficial effects of physical activity on the risk of several cancers, the association with prostate cancer is less clear.
Most previous studies have assessed fitness only at one point in time, and none have considered the potential impact of fitness on both the risk of developing prostate cancer and the risk of death from prostate cancer. .
Researchers at the Swedish Institute of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH) therefore set out to find out whether improving men’s fitness could offset their risk of developing the disease.
They analyzed data from Sweden’s national occupational health profile, which includes information on physical activity, lifestyle, perceived health status, weight and height measurements, and the results of at least two CRF tests. .
The test measured the fitness of 57,652 Swedish men while pedaling on a steady-state bicycle.
Annual aerobic capacity was measured as absolute and relative VO2 max, which is related to the amount of oxygen used by the body during the most intense exercise possible.
Participants were then divided into groups according to whether their fitness levels increased by more than 3% each year, decreased by more than 3% each year, or remained stable.
To assess whether changes in fitness for prostate cancer risk differed by baseline fitness, we created three equally sized groups of low, intermediate, and high CRF.
All participants were monitored from the date of last assessment until the date of prostate cancer diagnosis, date of death from any cause, or December 31, 2019, whichever came first.
Researchers found that over an average of about seven years, 592 men, or 1 percent of the total sample, were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 46 men (0.08 percent) died from prostate cancer.
They also found that after taking into account potentially influencing factors such as age, education level, year of exam, and body weight (BMI), a yearly percent increase in absolute cardiorespiratory fitness reduced prostate cancer risk by 2 percent. They also found that it was associated with death, but not with death. and smoking status.
When participants were grouped according to whether their cardiorespiratory fitness improved, remained stable, or decreased, those whose fitness improved by at least 3% per year were one-third more likely to develop prostate cancer. (35%) or more. People with reduced fitness, taking into account potentially influencing factors.
When participants were grouped by cardiorespiratory fitness at the initial assessment, the association between fitness and reduced prostate cancer risk was statistically significant only for participants who had moderate levels of fitness at the start of the study. (15% lower).
However, because this study was purely observational, it was not possible to establish causal or genetic factors that play a large role in both a person’s cardiovascular fitness and cancer risk.
But lead author Dr. Kate Bolam, from GIH’s Directorate of Physical Activity and Health, said her team’s research still suggests there is a link between staying healthy and preventing prostate cancer. .
“This is the largest study to examine the relationship between changes in CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness) and cancer incidence and mortality, and the first study to examine changes in CRF specifically with respect to prostate cancer incidence and mortality. ,” Dr. Bolam explained.
“People whose absolute CRF increased by more than 3 percent per year had a significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with cancer than those whose CRF remained stable.
“These results highlight the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness for prostate cancer risk, which has been difficult to determine in single-time-point studies.
“Improving cardiovascular fitness in adult men should be encouraged and may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.”
Produced in collaboration with SWNS talker