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Trichomonas vaginalis infection and prostate‐specific antigen concentration: Insights into prostate involvement and prostate disease risk
Author(s) -
Langston Marvin E.,
Bhalla Ankita,
Alderete John F.,
Nevin Remington L.,
Pakpahan Ratna,
Hansen Johannah,
Elliott Debra,
Marzo Angelo M.,
Gaydos Charlotte A.,
Isaacs William B.,
Nelson William G.,
Sokoll Lori J.,
Zenilman Jonathan M.,
Platz Elizabeth A.,
Sutcliffe Siobhan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the prostate
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.295
H-Index - 123
eISSN - 1097-0045
pISSN - 0270-4137
DOI - 10.1002/pros.23886
Subject(s) - serostatus , trichomonas vaginalis , prostate , medicine , prostate cancer , prostatitis , prostate specific antigen , antigen , pca3 , sex hormone binding globulin , gynecology , immunology , cancer , androgen , hormone , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , viral load
Abstract Background: The protist Trichomonas vaginalis causes a common, sexually transmitted infection and has been proposed to contribute to the development of chronic prostate conditions, including benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. However, few studies have investigated the extent to which it involves the prostate in the current antimicrobial era. We addressed this question by investigating the relation between T. vaginalis antibody serostatus and serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) concentration, a marker of prostate infection, inflammation, and/or cell damage, in young, male, US military members. Methods: We measured T. vaginalis serum IgG antibodies and serum total PSA concentration in a random sample of 732 young, male US active duty military members. Associations between T. vaginalis serostatus and PSA were investigated by linear regression. Results: Of the 732 participants, 341 (46.6%) had a low T. vaginalis seropositive score and 198 (27.0%) had a high score, with the remainder seronegative. No significant differences were observed in the distribution of PSA by T. vaginalis serostatus. However, slightly greater, nonsignificant differences were observed when men with high T. vaginalis seropositive scores were compared with seronegative men, and when higher PSA concentrations were examined (≥0.70 ng/mL). Specifically, 42.5% of men with high seropositive scores had a PSA concentration greater than or equal to 0.70 ng/mL compared with 33.2% of seronegative men (adjusted P = .125). Conclusions: Overall, our findings do not provide strong support for prostate involvement during T. vaginalis infection, although our suggestive positive findings for higher PSA concentrations do not rule out this possibility entirely. These suggestive findings may be relevant for prostate condition development because higher early‐ to mid‐life PSA concentrations have been found to predict greater prostate cancer risk later in life.