Korean scientists have identified a link between urinary symptoms and metabolic syndrome.

Men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)/ benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) are at high risk of components of metabolic syndrome, a study has found.

Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and features conditions such as type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

NHS figures suggest that approximately one in four adults in the UK may be affected by metabolic syndrome, thereby raising their likelihood of heart disease, stroke and other vascular conditions in the future.

Scientists at the National Police Hospital in Seoul, Korea, recently carried out a study to see whether there were links between LUTS/BPH and the number of components of metabolic syndrome.

Researchers in the hospital's urology department recruited 1,224 men, aged 50 to 59 years, who underwent a series of health tests.

A number of factors were assessed to determine whether or not men had LUTS/BPH, including their levels of a protein called prostate-specific antigen, any prostate symptoms, prostate size, maximum urinary flow rate and post-void residual urine volume.

Participants were split into four groups depending on whether they had zero, one to two, three, or four to five components of metabolic syndrome.

Analysis revealed that 29 per cent of participants had metabolic syndrome.

The more urinary and prostate symptoms men had, the greater the number of metabolic abnormalities they displayed.

Publishing their findings in the journal Urology, the study authors concluded: "According to our results, the cases of LUTS/BPH were positively associated with the number of metabolic syndrome components."

While the study does not prove that one condition causes the other, it suggests that men with bladder and prostate symptoms may want to take steps to improve their cardiovascular health and vice versa.

One way to improve urinary problems could be to use a supplement such as Flowease, which is an effective natural solution for BPH.

It contains rye pollen extracts, which have been shown to ease prostate ailments without causing unwanted side-effects.

Research has shown that rye pollen extract works in four distinct ways to treat BPH - by improving muscle action in the urethra and bladder; reducing inflammation; preventing prostate growth; and blocking the conversion of testosterone to a different hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which encourages abnormal growth of the prostate gland.