Men with diabetes are at increased risk for bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms and frequent nighttime urination or “nocturia,” investigators have shown. This is particularly true for black men with diabetes.

The investigators examined the associations between diabetes and signs of an enlarged prostate gland, a condition called benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH, that is quite common among older men and that can cause symptoms such as frequent urination and a weak urine stream.

The study was made up of 2484 black and white men who were participating in studies designed to evaluate the natural history of BPH. Their average age was 56 years, and 170 (6.8 percent) had diabetes. None had prostate cancer.

Dr. Aruna V. Sarma, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues found that diabetes significantly increased the risk of irritative symptoms such as frequent urination - particularly at night - and feelings of urgency.

The association between diabetes and moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms was greater among black men than among white men.

There were no significant associations between diabetes and prostate volume, suggesting, the researchers say, that the “presence of diabetes may be less related to prostate growth and more related to the dynamic components of lower urinary tract function.”

SOURCE: Diabetes Care March 2008.