Statewide analysis of serum prostate specific antigen levels in Louisiana men without prostate cancer.

Objectives: To examine age, racial, and regional differences in serum PSA levels among men in Louisiana.

Methods: From January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001, there were 10,012 serum PSA tests performed at Louisiana Health Care Services Division (HCSD) hospitals. Manual and electronic data mining were performed to select the earliest PSA value in those men who had multiple determinations. This PSA data file was then linked with those of the Louisiana Tumor Registry and from HCSD pathology laboratories, all matched cases were removed. Men younger than 40 years and older than 79 years were excluded from this study. The final data file contained 7,258 men, of whom 4,244 were African-Americans and 3,014 were Caucasians. Comparisons of median and geometric mean serum PSA level were made between and among races for each age-decade as well as among the hospitals to assess for racial and regional differences.

Results: Median PSA levels were statistically significantly higher in African-American men than in Caucasian men for each age group (p < or = 0.0002). The median PSA (ng/ml) for African-American men was 0.7, 0.9, 1.3, and 2.3 for age-decades 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70-79, respectively, whereas for Caucasian men the median PSA levels were 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 for age-decades 50-59, 60-69, and 70-79, respectively. Nonparametric analysis of variance did not demonstrate a regional pattern of PSA values among the hospitals.

Conclusions: In a first statewide analysis of age and racial differences of serum PSA levels, African-American men without prostate cancer had significantly higher serum PSA levels than their age-matched Caucasian male counterparts. Additionally, there were no regional patterns of PSA values among the racial groups.