Risk Factors for Male Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms: The Role of Metabolic Syndrome and Androgenetic Alopecia in a Latin American Population

The study aimed to identify risk factors for male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in a Latin American population. The study found that components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) were strongly associated with urinary symptoms, and cardiovascular risk factors such as waist-to-hip ratio and history of cardiovascular events were independent predictors of LUTS. MetS was also an independent predictor of storage symptoms. However, androgenetic alopecia (AGA) was not significantly associated with LUTS after adjustment for relevant predictors on multivariate analysis. The study suggests that the association between MetS and LUTS may be related to arterial insufficiency and ischemia of the bladder, and further investigation is needed to understand the role of hormones, ischemia, inflammation, and growth factors in the development of LUTS in patients with MetS.