WEDNESDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Bicycle riding at a professional level doesn't influence serum levels of total and free prostate-specific antigen (PSA), according to research published in the December issue of Urology.
Tolga Saka, M.D., of Erciyes University in Kayseri, Turkey, and colleagues analyzed data from 34 athletes from a national cycling team with substantial weekly bicycling mileage, and 24 controls who had not been recently involved in any intense sports. All were healthy males with a mean age in the early 20s. All underwent blood testing and uroflowmetric and post-void residual urine volume analysis, which was done both before and after a long cycling session.
The groups had similar serum total PSA, free PSA, free/total PSA, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels, and uroflowmetric measures. In cyclists, these values were not significantly different before and after the ride, save for testosterone, which significantly decreased (603.6 to 424.8 ng/dL).
"As known, factors affecting serum PSA levels may obscure the accuracy of PSA screening for prostate cancer. In this study, we examined the effect of cycling on serum PSA and hormone levels in normal, healthy subjects, with no evidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer," the authors write. "According to the results of our study, there is no effect of professional bicycle riding on serum total and free PSA levels and uroflowmetric parameters."
Abstract
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