Married men more likely to have early prostate screening

Michigan, December 9: A new study has found that men are less likely to go for early prostate screening, unless they are married or have live-in partners to motivate them.

The lead author of the study Lauren P Wallner from the University of Michigan speculated that perhaps their partners encouraged them.

She said that “In terms of motivating people to get screened there may be a benefit in targeting wives or significant others as well as men.”

During the course of the research Wallner studied about 2,447 Caucasians men from Olmstead County Minnesota. The average age of the men was 40 to 79 years and they had a family history of prostate cancerdefinedefine.

A prepared questionnaire with topics ranging from family history, martial status, to concerns about the disease was asked to be filled out by the participants. Research focused on how often the men underwent blood tests and rectal exams for detecting prostate cancer.

The findings revealed that men with a family history of the disease were 50 percent more likely to have had a screening. Those with deep fears of prostate cancer were nearly twice as likely to be screened. However men living alone avoided the test. They were 40 percent less likely to go in for a screening than those with a live-in partner.

Wallner said it was unclear why married men were more likely to get screened. She stated that further studies would be needed to examine this aspect. Lauren stressed on the need for men, especially those with a family history of prostate cancer, to go in for testing from the age of forty five. Unfortunately, most put it off till they touched 60.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men after lung cancer. The symptoms may not show until the advanced stage. Wallner cautioned that early screening could detect the problem in its infancy and prompt treatment could effectively combat the disease. Prostate cancer usually affects men over fifty years. About one in five men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in their life though only one in thirty three are known to die of the problem.

The study was published in Cancer Epidemiology - Biomarkers and Preventions, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.