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What Affects a PSA Count?

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is an enzyme that is measured through a blood sample. Levels in healthy males are normally below 4 g per mL, and increased levels of PSA are significantly related to the incidence of prostate cancer. Several factors influence the concentration of PSA, such as age, infections, medications, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is growth of the prostate, and prostate cancer.

  1. Size of Prostate

    • Often the prostate gland will grow in men over the age of 50. With this growth, the volume of the gland increases as well. A study published in the April 2010 issue of the "World Journal of Urology" established PSA values based on age and prostate volume of healthy men to better diagnose BPH. The researchers tested more than 1,700 men aged 50 to 80 and found that the average volume of the prostate gland increased from 24 to 38 mL as the population aged. Additionally, PSA concentrations increased from 1.1 to 2.5 ng per mL.

    Bacterial Infections

    • A study appearing in the April 2011 issue of "Oncotarget" investigated the involvement of mycoplasma infections with the frequency of prostate cancer. This study evaluated 125 men and found that 37 percent of them had positive results for the presence of mycoplasma infection, which was three times greater than those diagnosed with BPH. The authors concluded that PSA levels increased in men who had tested positive for this bacterial infection.

    Use of Medications

    • Medications have also been shown to increase PSA levels. A study appearing in the December 2010 issue of the "International Neurology Journal" compared the PSA values of patients who were unresponsive to medication to those who responded well to medication. The study found that failure of medication led to significantly increased levels of PSA. The authors also found that the mass of the gland increased to more than 50 g on average as compared to the 30 g average of the group that responded well.

    Low Fat Diets

    • Diet plays a critical role in maintaining healthy PSA levels. A study appearing in the January 2010 issue of the "Journal of Urology" included a study to investigate the benefits of low-fat diets on PSA levels. The researchers collected blood samples before and four weeks after diet changes were implemented and found that there was no significant decrease in PSA levels. However, they did find a correlation between the lower levels of fatty acids due to low fat diets and decreased cancer growth.

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