Healthy childhood predicts higher risk of prostate cancer

BOYS brought up in healthy homes are more likely to develop prostate cancer in later life, scientists have said.

A study found those who grew up in environments freer from germs and illnesses had higher testosterone levels as adults, which is linked to a greater risk of the cancer.

The team at Durham University said fighting off sickness in childhood left the body with fewer resources with which to develop the sex hormone.

They studied data from 359 men who had either been born in Bangladesh and moved to the UK as children, those who moved as adults, and second-generation Uk-born men whose parents were Bangladeshi migrants and Uk-born ethnic Europeans.

Published in the Nature Ecology and Evolution journal, the study challenges the theory that testosterone levels are controlled by genetics or race, researchers said, concluding that testosterone levels are more likely to be determined by his childhood environment.

High levels of testosterone can potentially lead to an increased risk of prostate enlargement and cancer.