JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is highly prevalent among aging men and may lead to progressive lower urinary tract symptoms, surgical intervention, or severe outcomes such as acute urinary retention, bladder stones, and renal impairment. Comprehensive long-term studies on BPH progression and outcomes in Chinese populations are limited.

Objective:

This study aims to analyze disease trajectories, risk factors, and key outcomes of BPH, and to develop predictive models using multicenter retrospective data from the PLA General Hospital network.

Methods:

We will establish a retrospective cohort of BPH patients with multiple visits across PLA General Hospital centers. The index date is defined as the first hospital visit for BPH. Patients will be followed via outpatient, inpatient, and health examination data until BPH-related endpoints, loss to follow-up, or death. Exclusions include follow-up <180 days, prostate cancer, neurogenic bladder, urethral stricture, pelvic radiotherapy, or incomplete records. Data will include baseline characteristics, comorbidities, treatments, and outcomes. Cox regression will be used to assess risk factors, and Kaplan–Meier methods to estimate cumulative incidence.

Results:

This study is scheduled to initiate in late October 2025.

Conclusions:

As a retrospective cohort study, this research is based on the 2000–2021 BPH follow-up data from multiple centers within the medical consortium of the PLA General Hospital. It analyzes the BPH disease progression trajectory and risk factors of key outcome events (e.g., surgical intervention, urinary retention), with the core goal of laying a data foundation for constructing a risk prediction model for BPH clinical progression and outcome events.