Dietary niacin intake and benign prostatic hyperplasia risk in older men
What it found
In 700 US men aged 40 and over, higher dietary niacin intake was linked to a higher chance of having benign prostatic hyperplasia.
The study followed people at one point in time, so it cannot show cause and effect.
What they found
Studies in people
Higher niacin, higher BPH link
After adjusting for all the factors they measured, each extra unit of dietary niacin was linked to a slightly higher chance of having BPH. The authors report this as a positive association.
Top third vs bottom third
Men in the highest third of dietary niacin intake were more likely to have BPH than men in the lowest third. This held after adjusting for all the factors they measured.
Dose-response pattern
A dose-response analysis showed that as dietary niacin intake went up, the chance of having BPH also went up. The pattern looked like a straight line rather than a curve.
Subgroups with higher risk
The link between dietary niacin and BPH was still seen in men over 60 and in men with a history of high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease. No significant differences were found between the other subgroups they looked at.
Niacin amounts in the groups
Men with BPH had a higher average dietary niacin intake than men without BPH. The average was 27.89 mg per day in the BPH group and 23.37 mg per day in the control group.
What the authors conclude
“The study results demonstrated a positive association between dietary niacin intake and the risk of BPH in elderly men in the US.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that higher dietary niacin intake may potentially exacerbate BPH in older men.
- They advise that prostate health should be assessed before recommending nutritional supplements for middle-aged and older men.
- They say that for older men with BPH, clinicians should consider reducing or avoiding the use of niacin and its related compounds.
How it was done
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is common in older men and harms quality of life, and the authors say there is little research on whether dietary niacin intake is related to its risk. They also note that some micronutrient supplements have been linked to a higher risk of BPH, so they wanted to look at niacin specifically.
They used data from NHANES 2003 to 2008, a US health and nutrition survey. They included 700 men aged 40 and over who had prostate questionnaire data and dietary niacin data. Niacin intake came from the average of two 24-hour diet interviews, and BPH was based on self-report questionnaires.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a cross-sectional study, so it cannot show whether higher niacin intake causes BPH or whether BPH leads to higher niacin intake.
- BPH was identified from self-reported questionnaires rather than objective medical tests, which may affect accuracy.
- The dietary niacin data came from self-reported diet interviews and may be affected by recall bias.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, China; The First People's Hospital of Changzhou, China
The paper
- Title
- Association between dietary niacin intake and benign prostatic hyperplasia: a population-based results from NHANES 2003-2008
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Feng X, Chen Y, Xia W, Zhang B (2024). Association between dietary niacin intake and benign prostatic hyperplasia: a population-based results from NHANES 2003-2008. Journal of health, population, and nutrition. doi:10.1186/s41043-024-00624-1Free full textPubMed 39174993DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error