Frequent sex linked to prostate cancer

NOTTINGHAM, England, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Men who had frequent sex and masturbation in their 20s and 30s are more likely to develop prostate cancer, British researchers said.

The study of 800 men, published in BJU International, also found that frequent sexual activity in a man's 40s appears to have little effect and even small levels of activity in a man's 50s could offer protection from the disease. However, most of the differences were attributed to masturbation rather than sexual intercourse, the study said.

Researchers led by the University of Nottingham asked the men about about all aspects of their sex life from their 20s on.

"Hormones appear to play a key role in prostate cancer and it is very common to treat men with therapy to reduce the hormones thought to stimulate the cancer cells," lead author Dr. Polyxeni Dimitropoulou, now at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement.

"A man's sex drive is also regulated by his hormone levels, so this study examined the theory that having a high sex drive affects the risk of prostate cancer."

Forty percent of men in the cancer group fell into the highest frequency category in their 20s -- 20 or more times a month -- compared to 32 percent in the control group.