Exploring the association between caffeine intake and benign prostatic hyperplasia: results from the NHANES 2005-2008.

Background: Coffee is a physiologically active food component prevalent throughout the world, but the association between caffeine intake and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been limited in extensive epidemiological studies.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the association between caffeine intake and BPH in adults in the United States using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2008. Caffeine intake (mg/day) was evaluated based on a 24-h dietary recall. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the independent relationship between caffeine intake and BPH, and the results are presented as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), subgroup analysis was also performed.

Results: A total of 2,374 participants were analyzed. After fully adjusting for potential confounders, logistic regression analysis revealed that higher caffeine intake was associated with a greater risk of BPH (ORT3vs1 = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.01-2.27;  = 0.04). In addition, this relationship was consistently observed across different subgroups, including individuals with lower education levels, a poverty income ratio (PIR) of 1.5 to 3.5, former smokers, married/living with partner individuals, those with uric acid levels of 5.5 to 6.5 mg/dL, those with hypertension, and those without cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Conclusion: This study is the first to find a positive correlation between caffeine intake and BPH, but further research is needed to determine the exact causal relationship between these factors.