Dietary change should be considered in chronic prostatitis

Researchers from the USA say that physicians should consider dietary changes for patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) to improve symptoms.

Their survey found that many men seemed to be sensitive to certain foods and beverages that aggravated their condition, which commonly included spicy foods, coffee, and alcohol.

“Dietary interventions for chronic diseases are attractive treatment options because of their low cost compared with pharmaceuticals and the lack of undesirable side effects,” say authors Robert Moldwin (Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine, New York) and colleagues.

“[H]owever, dietary modifications and recommendations remain underused in the treatment paradigm of chronic urologic pain disorders.”

The study included 95 men who responded to a questionnaire assessing food sensitivities relating to their prostatitis symptoms; 33 fulfilled criteria for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and were analyzed separately.

Among the 62 remaining men with CP/CPPS, 27 (43.5%) said that consuming certain foods and drinks increased their symptoms of pain, frequency, and urgency. Those with the greatest CP/CPPS symptom scores tended to report the greatest food sensitivities. Only 14 (22.6%) reported that certain foods alleviated their symptoms.

Of the 176 individual food types the patients assessed, spicy foods were the most aggravating, at a mean of –0.61 on a Likert scale of –2 to +2. This was followed by coffee at –0.51, hot peppers at –0.44, alcoholic drinks at –0.40, tea at –0.38, and chili also at –0.38.

Foodstuffs that patients said alleviated symptoms included docusate (mean, 0.13), pysllium (0.09), water (0.08), and polycarbophil (0.05).

Men with IC/BPS responded similarly but also reported symptom alleviation after the consumption of calcium glycerophosphate (mean, 0.29), baking soda, and low-fat milk.

Writing in Urology, Moldwin et al say that their findings support those of previous studies, replicating an association with acidic foods and drinks and symptoms, which could be related to altered urinary pH. They also suggest that the association between symptoms and spicy foods could be due to the component capsaicin, which has been linked to both irritable bowel syndrome and interstitial cystitis.

The team therefore concludes that dietary interventions should be considered one of the “cornerstones” of CP/CPPS treatment.

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