survey of the knowledge and beliefs of retired men about prostate cancer screening based on health belief model

Prostate cancer has been reported as the second leading cause of cancer death and the most common cancer diagnosed in men. Since Health Belief Model [HBM] has been intensively used for assessing health beliefs associated with cancer screening behaviors, we aimed to investigate the level of knowledge and health beliefs about prostate cancer screening among retired men. In this descriptive study carried out in 2013, we enrolled 180 men aged 50-70 years who were retired from Shiraz Education Department. Data were collected using three questionnaires including demographic questionnaire, HBM and the Knowledge about Prostate Cancer Screening questionnaires by interviewing the participants. Our findings showed that 95.6% and 85.6% of the interviewees had no experience of digital rectal examination [DRE] and prostatic-specific-antigen [PSA] testing for prostate cancer screening, respectively. 86.1% of men had no knowledge about such screening. 12.7% of the respondents reported good knowledge scores. 74.4% and 90.5% of them had good health motivation and perceived benefits scores, respectively. 81.6% of them revealed intermediate scores for perceived barriers. Moreover, 32.7% and 7.2% of the subjects reported good severity and susceptibility scores, respectively. Developing an assessment based on HBM could be effective in designing and implementing educational programs by helping to identify the needs and priorities of the target population

Age specific reference levels of serum prostate-specific antigen, prostate volume and prostate specific antigen density in healthy Iranian men

It is relevant to highlight that there is not a precise and perfect report on either 95 percentile value [upper limit of normal range] or on appropriate reference intervals for serum PSA in Iranian population. To determine age-specific reference ranges for serum prostate-specific antigen [PSA] concentration and PSA density [PSAD] and prostate volumes in a population of healthy Iranian men. Nine-hundred and thirteen healthy Iranian men, aged 50-79 years, underwent a detailed clinical evaluation including a digital rectal examination, a serum PSA determination [DRE] and transrectal ultrasound [TRUS]. PSA test was performed on 666 of the subjects and TRUS was done on 633 of them. None of the subjects had any evidence of prostate cancer by any one of the three diagnostic tests and had no history of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms [LUTS]. Age specific ranges for PSA levels, PSA density and prostate volume were determined. The serum PSA concentration correlated directly with the subjects' age [r=0.280; p < 0.001] and prostatic volume [r=0.327; p < 0.001]. Also prostatic volume was directly proportional to age [r = 0.197; p < 0.001].The serum PSA ranges [95th percentile] for each age range in Iranian men were: 0.00-2.61 ng/ml for 50-59 years; 0.00-3.59 ng/ml for 60-69 years; and 0.00-4.83 ng/ml for 70-79 years. The respective prostate volumes were: 14-59, 16-66 and 18-73ml. Also respective PSA densities were: 0.00-0.076, 0.00-0.10 and 0.00-0.14 ng/ml/ml. The present study confirms earlier reports that serum PSA levels and prostate volume and PSAD are age- and race- dependent, so it is appropriate to have age- specific reference ranges for these variables in various communities around the world. This will increase the positive predictive value of PSA estimation in the diagnosis of prostate cancer in different communities