Beneficial Effects of the Very-Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet on the Symptoms of Male Accessory Gland Inflammation

Abstract

Introduction. Obesity exposes individuals to the risk of chronic inflammation of the prostate gland. Aim and design of the study. A longitudinal clinical study was conducted on selected overweight/obese patients with male accessory gland inflammation (MAGI) to evaluate the effects of body weight loss on their urogenital symptoms. Materials and methods. One hundred patients were selected and assigned to two groups undergoing two different nutritional programs. The first group (n = 50) started a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and the second (n = 50) a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD). Before and after three months on the diet, each patient was evaluated for body weight, waist circumference, and MAGI symptoms. The MAGI was assessed using the Structured Interview about MAGI (SI-MAGI), a questionnaire previously designed to assess the symptoms of MAGI. The questionnaire explores four domains, including urinary symptoms, ejaculatory pain or discomfort, sexual dysfunction, and impaired quality of life. Finally, in the two groups, the frequency of an α-blocker used to treat urinary tract symptoms was also evaluated. Results. Patients on MedDiet experienced significant amelioration in urinary symptoms and quality of life. Patients under VLCKD reported not only significant improvement of the same parameters, but also in ejaculatory pain/discomfort and sexual dysfunction. Finally, the percentage of patients on VLCKD taking the α-blocker decreased significantly. Moreover, patients under VLCKD showed a greater loss of body weight than those following the MedDiet. Discussion. The results of this study support the effectiveness of VLCKD in improving the symptoms of patients with MAGI. This improvement involved all of the domains of the SI-MAGI questionnaire and became manifest in a relatively short time. We suggest that a ketogenic nutritional approach can be used in overweight/obese patients with MAGI.

Keywords: MAGI; Mediterranean diet; VLCKD; ejaculatory pain; male accessory gland infection; quality of life; sexual dysfunction; urinary symptoms; very-low-calorie ketogenic diet.

Figure 1

Protocol of the study. Patients with inflammatory prostate vesicle epididymitis who were overweight or mildly obese underwent a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) or a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) for at least 12 weeks. The Structured Interview on Male Accessory Gland Inflammation (SI-MAGI) questionnaire was administered to both groups before the start (T0) and after 12 weeks (T1) of the diet. Patients with bacterial PVE or moderate to severe obesity were excluded.

Figure 2

Scores were obtained by administering the Structured Interview on Male Accessory Gland Inflammation (MAGI) on urinary symptoms (Panel A), ejaculatory pain or discomfort (Panel B), sexual dysfunction (Panel C), and impaired quality of life (Panel D) in patients with MAGI before (T0) and after three months (T1) on a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) or very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD). * p < 0.05 by one-way analysis of variance followed by the Tukey–Kramer post hoc test.

Figure 3

Percentage of α-blocker users for the treatment of urinary symptoms in patients with male accessory gland inflammation before (T0) and after three months (T1) on a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) or very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD). * p < 0.05 vs. VLCKD T0; ^† p < 0.05 vs. Med-Diet T1 (Chi-squared test).