We do not yet fully understand what causes the prostate gland to grow. However, there are two risk factors that we do know about:

Age
Your risk of developing an enlarged prostate increases as you get older. Many men over the age of 50 will have an enlarged prostate gland but not all of these men will get symptoms.

Hormone levels
Changes in the balance of hormones in your body as you get older may cause your prostate gland to grow.

Other factors
Obese men and men who have diabetes may be more at risk of developing an enlarged prostate. You may be able to reduce your risk by doing more exercise. However, we need more studies into the causes of prostate enlargement to know for certain if, and how, we can prevent it. There is also some research that suggests you may be more at risk of developing an enlarged prostate if you have a family history of the condition. Again, further studies are needed to confirm this.

Common symptoms include:

• A weak urine flow
• Needing to pass urine more often, especially at night
• A feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly
• Difficulty starting to pass urine
• Dribbling urine
• Needing to rush to the toilet - you may occasionally leak urine before you get there
• Blood in your urine

You may have only a few of these symptoms, or you may not have any symptoms. Without treatment, some men may find that the symptoms of an enlarged prostate slowly get worse.

These symptoms can be caused by other medical problems that are not related to the prostate. They may also be caused by lifestyle factors and some medicines. If you have any of the symptoms above, you should visit your GP to find out what is causing them.

You can read about how symptoms might affect your life in our booklet, Enlarged Prostate: A guide to diagnosis and treatment.

Having an enlarged prostate does not put you at greater risk of getting prostate cancer. The two conditions begin in different areas of the prostate gland. However, it is possible to have both an enlarged prostate and prostate cancer at the same time. In most cases, early prostate cancer does not cause any urinary symptoms. Visit your GP if you are concerned about prostate cancer. You can also call our confidential Helpline.

You might have several different tests to find out whether you have an enlarged prostate. You may not have all of these. Your GP may do some of these tests, but you might also need to visit a doctor who specialises in urinary problems (a urologist) or a specialist nurse at the hospital. Possible test include:

• Symptom check
• Urine test, to check for infection
• Blood test, to check your kidneys are working properly
• PSA test
• Physical examination, including a digital rectal examination (DRE)
• Urine flow test, to measure the speed of your flow
• Ultrasound scan, to show whether your bladder is emptying properly

Depending on the results of these tests, you may have further tests to find out what is causing your symptoms.

You can read more about how an enlarged prostate is diagnosed in our booklet, Enlarged Prostate: A guide to diagnosis and treatment.

There are three main types of treatment for an enlarged prostate

Watchful waiting
If symptoms are not affecting your quality of life and you have no complications, you may decide to wait and see how your condition develops. The condition usually develops slowly and your symptoms may not get any worse. Lifestyle changes, such as drinking fewer drinks containing alcohol, caffeine or artificial sweeteners, may help improve symptoms.

Medicines
If lifestyle changes are not enough to improve your quality of life, medicines may help control your symptoms. The main types of medicine are alpha-blockers and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors. You may have both medicines together. Some men find that herbal remedies help to control their symptoms. However, we need the results of larger, more thorough studies before we can recommend herbal remedies as a treatment for an enlarged prostate. Always tell your doctor or nurse if you are taking any kind of any kind of herbal or complementary therapy.

Surgery
If lifestyle changes and/or medicines do not control your symptoms, or your symptoms are severe, your doctor may recommend surgery. Surgery involves removing part of your prostate gland. There are several different types of surgery available including transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP), transurethral vaporisation of the prostate (TUVP), bladder neck incision, and open prostatectomy. You can read more about TURP in our online fact sheet.

If surgery is not suitable for you, your specialist team may recommend a catheter to drain urine from your bladder.

You can read more about treatment options in our booklet, Enlarged Prostate: A guide to diagnosis and treatment.

• What tests will I need to have?
• Which treatment would be most suitable for me? And why?
• What are the possible side effects of the treatments?
• How long can I take to decide which type of treatment I want?
• How will an enlarged prostate affect my quality of life?

"About four out of every ten men over the age of 50 (40 per cent) have urinary symptoms that may be caused by an enlarged prostate."

This comes from:

Truem an P, Hood SC, Nayak USL et al. Prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms and self-reported diagnosed 'benign prostatic hyperplasia', and their effect on quality of life in a community-based survey of men in the UK. BJU Int 1999; 83: 410-415.

"Three out of four men in their 70s (75 per cent) have urinary symptoms that may be caused by an enlarged prostate."

This comes from:

Wei JT, Calhoun E, Jacobsen SJ. Urologic diseases in America project: benign prostatic hyperplasia. Journal of Urology 2005; 173: 1256-1261.

You can find a full list of references used to produce this page on our references page.