To perform a comprehensive evaluation of the main risk factors for chronic prostatitis in China.

We searched and collected the literature reporting case-control studies on the risk factors for chronic prostatitis in Chinese men from January 2000 to November 2017 according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Fixed effects and random effects models were used to calculate the pooled odds ratio values (ORs; with 95%CIs) of these factors separately to perform a meta-analysis. These factors included urinary tract infection, frequent masturbation, long-time fixed position (sitting/riding), unrestrained sexual activity, long-time urine holding, intake of spicy food, drinking, anxiety, and smoking. The consistency of the results was compared and the reliability of the pooled results was analyzed.

A total of 18 case-control studies, including 15569 patients and 32677 controls, were enrolled in this research. The pooled ORs (with 95%CIs) of the risk factors were: urinary tract infection 6.05 (4.40~8.34), frequent masturbation 3.51 (2.84~4.34), long-time fixed position (sitting/riding) 3.48 (2.88~4.20), unrestrained sexual activity 2.51 (1.81~3.48), long-time urine holding 2.49 (2.08~2.99), intake of spicy food 2.27 (1.15~4.51), drinking 2.16 (1.57~2.97), anxiety 2.04 (1.60~2.61), and smoking 1.44 (1.25~1.66).

Urinary tract infection, frequent masturbation, long-time fixed position (sitting/riding), unrestrained sexual activity, long-time urine holding, intake of spicy food, drinking, anxiety, and smoking are all risk factors for chronic prostatitis in China. Urinary tract infection is the highest risk factor for chronic prostatitis.