prostate-report.org

Regular sex can protect older men from prostate cancer

Previous research suggested that greater sexual activity was linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer, but findings from Nottingham University (published in the British Journal Of Urology International) suggest the opposite is true: that increased activity is protective for older men.

This backs up the findings of a major study five years ago by the National Cancer Institute, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Previous studies have suggested the reduced risk is due to the release of toxins from the prostate gland.

‘We can’t say for certain that having regular sex can protect older men from prostate cancer, because such studies don’t prove the mechanism through which risk is reduced,’ says Dr Geoffrey Hackett, consultant urologist at Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield, and former chairman of the British Society for Sexual Medicine.

‘But many men who maintain a regular sex life are also likely to maintain a healthy lifestyle in terms of regular exercise and a better diet. That’s likely playing a bigger part in their prostate cancer risk reduction.’