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the study, conducted at institut national de la recherche scientifique (inrs) in quebec and published in the european journal of epidemiology , supports previous research that living with a partner can have a profound impact on the health of men as they age. but while much is known about the positive effect a partner can have on a patient’s prognosis following diagnosis, less is known regarding how marital status relates to incidence of the disease in the first place.
to explore this, researchers analyzed 12 studies from practical , an international consortium of researchers and study groups dedicated to determining the genetic risk of prostate cancer by identifying the specific genes related the risk of the disease. this allowed them to identify and compare over 14,000 recently diagnosed prostate cancer patients to a pool of 12,000 healthy men.
“this large group of subjects showed us that widowers were at risk of being diagnosed later than married men or men in relationships,” said charlotte salmon , a phd student at inrs, whose thesis focuses on the impact of social isolation on prostate cancer. “as a result, when the diagnosis is made, the disease has often metastasized elsewhere in the body.”
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prostate cancer is the fourth most common cancer in canada — and number one among men — with an estimated 23,300 people receiving a diagnosis in 2020, according to the public health agency of canada . roughly one in nine canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives, with 99 per cent of cases occurring in men over the age of 50. the likelihood of surviving at least five years upon diagnosis is 93 per cent.
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dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca
