Association of Non-Genetic Risk Factors with Prostate Cancer in the Population of Jammu Region of J and K, India

ABSTRACT: The rising incidence rates of prostate cancer (CAP) have become a global health disorder. It has a complex etiology and includes both potentially modifiable environmental factors and non-modifiable genetic components. In this study, we aimed to identify the potential and significant non-genetic risk factors associated with CAP in the population of Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 320 study subjects (120 clinically confirmed CAP patients and 200 healthy age-matched unrelated participants) were registered for this investigation after obtaining their prior consent. A predesigned health questionnaire and hospital-based patient history were used to collect data pertaining to clinical variables, sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric parameters, and biochemical indices. The result revealed that diet patterns (non-vegetarianism, p=0.01), lack of physical activity (p=0.0007), dwelling (urban residents, p=0.0105), higher levels of serum LDL-cholesterol (p=<0.0001), triglyceride (p=0.01), VLDL-cholesterol (p=0.02), total cholesterol (p=0.0527), creatinine (p=0.0006), sodium (p=0.0429), urea (p=0.0006), and PSA (p=<0.0001) were significantly associated with CAP. Moreover, higher mean age (69.82±15.5), the extent/duration of diabetes mellitus (DM) (p=0.0007), lack of physical activity (p=0.0007), high intake of red meat (p=0.0005), LDL-Cholesterol (p=<0.0001) and positive family history (p=<0.0001) were found to be the most significant risk factors for CAP. The study notably identified the most significant and novel (extent/duration of diabetes and serum levels of LDL, VLDL) non-genetic risk factors associated with prostate cancer in the population of the Jammu region thus helping to target the high-risk populations and informing preventive interventions.