Exercise can stem frequent night urination in men

Men who are physically active are at lower risk of nocturia - waking up at night to urinate, says a study.

Nocturia is the most common and bothersome lower urinary tract affliction in men.

"Combined with other management strategies, physical activity may provide a strategy for the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) related outcomes, particularly nocturia," explained Kate Wolin from the Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine.

Wolin and colleagues analysed data from a large, ongoing clinical trial called the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO).

Men aged 55 to 74 were eligible for the trial.

The study included questions on BPH-related outcomes, including enlarged prostate and nocturia.

PLCO also asked men about physical activity and other lifestyle factors.

Wolin's analysis included 28,404 men in the PLCO trial who had BPH outcomes before enrolling in the study (prevalent group) and 4,710 men who had newly developed BPH (incident group).

Among men in the incident group, those who were physically active one or more hours per week were 13 percent less likely to report nocturia and 34 percent less likely to report severe nocturia than men who reported no physical activity.

There are several possible mechanisms by which physical activity can protect against nocturia, including reducing body size and improving sleep.

The study was published online in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.