Metabolic syndrome in sub-Saharan Africa: "smaller twin" of a region's prostatic diseases?

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PC) and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) constitute many of the health concerns of males around the world. Prostate cancer is the major cause of death after lung cancer in men. Benign prostate hyperplasia affects most males above 40 years of age. A variety of factors, chiefly age, genetics and lifestyle, have been linked to the development of PC and BPH. The metabolic syndrome describes a chain of chronic disorders that are inter-related in aetiology, and result from unhealthy lifestyles, often due to an affluent economy. The eating of processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle apparently are status symbols among the middle and upper classes in sub-Saharan Africa. These have resulted in a surge in the disease burden of sub-Saharan Africa. This paper looks at the aetiology and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and prostatic diseases, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence from the available literature shows that prostate disorders may be related to the metabolic syndrome. There is a likelihood that if sub-Saharan Africans keep copying the lifestyles of the developed world, especially in the direction of the nature of food items consumed, then the rising prevalence of diseases of the metabolic syndrome and the attendant prostate disorders may become very formidable healthcare "twin" problems for the region.