Purpose: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a prevalent urologic disorder among men, but its etiology is still poorly understood. Our objective was to examine the relation between physical activity and incidence of CP/CPPS in a large cohort of male health professionals.
Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study among men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study followed from 1986 to 2008. The study population included 20,918 men who completed all CP/CPPS questions on the 2008 questionnaire. Leisure-time physical activity, including type and intensity of activity, was measured by questionnaire in 1986. A National Institute of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index pain score was calculated on the basis of the responses on the 2008 questionnaire. Participants with pain scores ≥8 were considered CP/CPPS cases (n = 689).
Results: Higher leisure-time physical activity was associated with lower risk of CP/CPPS. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio comparing >35.0 to ≤3.5 MET·h·wk of physical activity was 0.72 (95% confidence interval, 0.56-0.92; P for trend <0.001). Observed inverse associations between physical activity and CP/CPPS were similar for both moderate- and vigorous-intensity activities. Sedentary behavior, measured as time spent watching television, was not associated with risk of CP/CPPS (P for trend = 0.64).
Conclusions: Findings from this study, the first large scale and most comprehensive study to date on this association, suggest that higher levels of leisure-time physical activity may lower risk of CP/CPPS in middle-age and older men.