Impact of obesity on serum markers of prostatic disorders: A cross-sectional study in Iraqi

The aim in the current research was to assess the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and two prostatic markers-total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) and free prostate-specific antigen (fPSA). A prospective randomized cross-sectional study involved 127 Iraqi men (40 years or older). The exclusion criteria were baseline PSA levels ≥5ng/ml, prostate cancer, and the use of medications that could alter the levels of prostate-specific markers. All participants underwent blood sampling for analysis. Anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, and BMI, were studied. The levels of total and free prostate-specific antigens (tPSA and fPSA) were measured using the ELISA test and immune-enzymometric method. Study consisted of 26 patients (20.47%) with a normal BMI, 47 overweight-37%, 33 patients-obesity (25.98%), and 21 men-severe obesity (16.53%). The mean values (±standard deviation) of the prostate-specific markers tPSA and fPSA were 1.683 ± 0.563 ng/ml and 0.537 ± 0.189 ng/ml, respectively. The study of apparently healthy Iraqi men and obese patients, no statistically significant relationship was found between BMI and the levels of the prostate-specific markers tPSA and fPSA. These findings suggest that BMI may not be a reliable predictor of these prostatic markers in the studied sample.