Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 September 2005
study objective: the study intended to investigate the possible relationship between physical activity and prostate cancer risk on a previously unexamined population set.
design: a population-based study was conducted on males entered on the irish cancer registry between the years 1994 to 1997 to investigate if physical activity affected the risk of prostate cancer. activity was coded for three levels of occupational activity and the odds ratios were calculated together with 95% confidence limits.
results: despite limitations in the data, an elevated risk (odds ratio 2.13, 95% confidence interval 1.29–3.52) was seen in working subjects with low levels of activity compared with the high activity group. in the retired group there was a slight elevation of risk, although it was not statistically significant.
conclusion: the study suggests that physical activity offers a small but significant reduction in prostate cancer risk for those people in work.