Epidemiology and natural history of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) afflicts the majority of elderly men, and if current rates of surgery persist, the average 40-year-old man in the United States will have a 30 to 40 per cent chance of undergoing a prostatectomy if he survives to age 80. Age is by the far the most important determinant of BPH occurrence. Symptomatic BPH has a waxing and waning course, and a few men may have long-term remission. Surprisingly, the natural history of BPH is poorly defined, particularly with regard to the magnitude of the risks of its complications.