Increased risk of depressive disorder following the diagnosis of benign prostatic enlargement: One-year follow-up study

PurposeIn previous studies, benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) and urinary tract symptoms were demonstrated to be associated with depressive symptoms. However, no longitudinal follow-up study to date has evaluated the relationship between BPE and the subsequent risk of developing depressive disorder. This nationwide, population-based study aimed to prospectively examine the relationship between a history of BPE and the risk of developing depressive disorder.Materials and methodsA total of 16,130 adult patients diagnosed with BPE for the first time between 2005 and 2007 were recruited along with a comparison cohort of 48,390 matched enrollees without a history of BPE. All the subjects were tracked for a one-year period following their index date to identify those who subsequently developed a depressive disorder. The Cox proportional hazards model was utilized to compute the risk difference for depressive disorder between cohorts.ResultsOf 64,520 sampled patients, 325 (2.01%) from the BPE cohort, and 531 (1.10%) from the comparison cohort were subsequently diagnosed with depressive disorder during the follow-up period. The risk of developing depressive disorder within one-year following diagnosis with BPE was found to be 1.87 (95% CI = 1.63-2.16, p < 0.001) times the risk in absence of BPE after adjusting for the patients' monthly income, and the geographical location and urbanization level of their place of residence.ConclusionsOur results suggest that patients with BPE are at an increased risk for contracting depressive disorder.