Physical activity from early adulthood and risk of prostate cancer: a 24 year follow-up study among Icelandic men
Menée en Islande auprès de 8 221 participants nés entre 1907 et 1935 (durée moyenne de suivi : 24,8 ans), cette étude évalue l'association entre le niveau d'activité physique dès le début de l'âge adulte et le risque de cancer de la prostate (1 052 cas)
Physical activity in adult life may reduce prostate cancer risk. Data are scarce on the role of activity during early adulthood, as well as combined recreational and occupational physical activity on prostate cancer risk and mortality. We undertook a prospective study of 8221 Icelandic men (born 1907 to 1935) in the population-based Reykjavik Study. At enrollment, between 1967 and 1987, the men provided information on regular recreational physical activity since the age of 20 years as well as current occupational activity. Through linkage to nationwide cancer and mortality registers, the men were followed for prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality through 2009. We used Cox models to calculate the relative risk of prostate cancer by level of physical activity. During a mean follow-up of 24.8 years, 1052 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, of whom 349 had advanced disease (stage 3+ or prostate cancer death). Neither recreational nor occupational physical activity was, independently or combined, associated with overall or localized prostate cancer. Compared to physically inactive men, we observed a nonsignificant lower risk of advanced prostate cancer (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42 to 1.07) among men reporting both recreational and occupational physical activity (p-value for interaction = 0.03). Awaiting confirmation in larger studies with detailed assessment of physical activity, our data suggest that extensive physical activity beginning in early adulthood may reduce the risk of advanced prostate cancer.