Is There a Link Between High Cholesterol & Elevated PSA?

Lowering your cholesterol is not just good for lowering your risk of heart disease, it may also help decrease your elevated PSA[link] levels. PSA, short for prostate specific antigen, is a marker used in men to gauge the risk of prostate cancer. The higher your PSA levels, the more likely you may get prostate cancer in the future. Although there are instances where PSA levels may be high and prostate cancer is not present, it is still ideal to have PSA levels as low as possible. New research presented at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Conference suggests that keeping your cholesterol levels down may also keep your PSA levels down too.

The researchers examined 1,214 men taking statins over a 16-year period. They found that after beginning statin therapy, the PSA levels decreased along with their cholesterol levels, especially LDL cholesterol.

As of now, the investigators of this study are not sure if the lowered LDL cholesterol decreases one’s risk of prostate cancer or if prostate disease is still present despite lowered PSA levels. Taking a statin may help to lower cholesterol levels, but it could also reduce PSA levels, rendering it useless as a marker for prostate cancer. While more research in this area is needed, this finding may provide insight into the role that cholesterol may play in other areas of the body.

_Source:

Hamilton RJ, Platz EA, Goldberg KC, Freedland SJ. The association between cholesterol and PSA. J Urol 2008; 179: 721 abstract 2094.