The impact of metabolic syndrome on the responsiveness to α1-blocker in men with BPH/LUTS

Aims: Increasing evidence has proposed the components of metabolic syndrome (MtS) as risk factors for the development of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH); therefore, it is thought that MtS may play a role in lower urinary tract symptoms related to BPH (BPH/LUTS) aetiology. Considering the closed relationships between MtS and BPH/LUTS, it is possible that patients with MtS might have different drug responsiveness in men with BPH/LUTS. We prospectively investigated the impact of MtS on responsiveness to 1-blocker in men with BPH/LUTS. Methods: We enrolled a total of 109 patients with a mean (SD) age of 59.8 (9.0)years, having a prostate volume of 20cm3 or greater with moderate to severe LUTS. All patients received doxazosin GITS (gastrointestinal therapeutic system) 4mg once daily for a 12-week period of treatment. The efficacy measurement was assessed by the changes from baseline in the total IPSS, maximum urinary flow rate and postvoid residual urine volume. The drug responders were defined as those who had a total IPSS decrease of more than 4 points from baseline after 12weeks of treatment. Results: Using multiple logistic regression analysis, our results showed that MtS was an independent factor for drug non-responder (OR=4.26, p=0.002). The rate of drug responder and total IPSS improvements in patients with MtS significantly decreased as the number of MtS components increased (p=0.012 and p=0.026). Among the MtS components, abnormal fasting blood glucose (FBG) was the most significantly independent factor for drug non-responder (OR=3.17, p=0.020). Conclusion: This study suggested that the presence of MtS had a significantly negative impact on the responsiveness to 1-blocker in men with BPH/LUTS. Our results are important for BPH/LUTS patients who did not initially respond to 1-blocker or who strive to reduce these metabolic risk factors