The relationship between depression and benign prostatic hyperplasia in middle-aged and elderly men in India: a large-scale population study

BACKGROUND: There have been few investigations on the association between depression and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This study aims to explore the correlation between depression and BPH among middle-aged and older men in India. METHODS: We utilized data from male individuals aged 45 years and older who participated in the initial wave (2017–2018) of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI). The presence of BPH symptoms was based on self-reported information, while depressive symptoms were evaluated using CESD-10. The analysis was a cross-sectional study conducted on a final sample size of 30,108 male participants. To examine associations, we employed multivariate logistic regression analysis along with subgroup analysis and interaction tests. RESULTS: A total of 439 (1.46%) men reported BPH and had a higher depression score (10.18 ± 4.22 vs. 9.28 ± 4.00). The findings indicated a significant association between the depression score and the likelihood of developing BPH, even after accounting for all potential confounding variables (OR = 1.054, 95% CI: 1.030–1.078, p < 0.00001). The participants were then categorized into a depression group and a normal group based on their CESD-10 score, using a threshold of 10 to ascertain the existence or nonexistence of depression. After adjusting for all variables in model IV, the findings continued to exhibit statistical significance (OR = 1.611, CI: 1.327–1.955, p < 0.00001). Significant interaction effects of age, education level, caste or tribe, and alcohol consumption were observed (p for interaction < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our research found that BPH was significantly linked to the presence of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly Indian men. Additional prospective research is necessary to clarify this association and investigate potential mechanisms. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-17027-2.