Number 379 + December 4, 2006

Total, Free, and Percent Free Prostate-Specific Antigen

Levels among U.S. Men, 2001–04

By David A. Lacher, M.D., M.Ed., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics;

Trevor D. Thompson, B.S., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease

Prevention and Health Promotion; Jeffery P. Hughes, M.P.H., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National

Center for Health Statistics; and Mona Saraiya, M.D., M.P.H., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National

Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Abstract

Objective—Screening for prostate cancer using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 

tests is common but remains controversial. Total PSA using thresholds of 4.0 and 

2.5 ng/mL has been used for screening men. In addition, the percent free PSA (free 

PSA/total PSA x 100%) using thresholds of less than 25% and 15% have been 

proposed for use in screening for prostate cancer in conjunction with the total PSA. 

The distributions of total PSA, free PSA, and percent free PSA, which vary with 

age and race-ethnicity among American men, would help determine the burden of 

screening using different thresholds of PSA tests. 

Methods—PSA tests were performed on serum samples from men age 40 years 

and older (n= 2,546) who participated in the 2001–04 National Health and Nutrition 

Examination Survey (NHANES). Total, free and percent free PSA were estimated 

for Mexican American, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic black men. 

Results—About 6.2%, (95% confidence interval, 95% CI: 5.2–7.2%), 

corresponding to an estimated 3.6 million (95% CI: 3.0–4.2 million) men 40 years 

of age and older, had a total PSA of greater than or equal to 4.0 ng/mL. 

Approximately 3.6% (95% CI: 1.8–6.2%) of Mexican American men, 6.2% (95% 

CI: 5.1–7.6%) of non-Hispanic white men, and 7.8% (95% CI: 5.2–11.1 ) of 

non-Hispanic black men had total PSA of 4.0 ng/mL or more. Approximately 13.1 

(95% CI: 11.7–14.5%) of men 40 years of age and older had total PSA greater than 

or equal to 2.5 ng/mL. For men with total PSA less than 2.5 ng/mL, 23.1% (95% 

CI: 21.0–25.3%) had a percent free PSA between 15% and 25%, and 5.0% had free 

PSA (95% CI: 3.9–6.4%) less than or equal to 15%. 

Conclusions—The effect of lowering the total PSA thresholds increases the 

number of U.S. men who would be referred for screening for prostate cancer. Total 

and free PSA increased with age in Mexican American, non-Hispanic white, and 

non-Hispanic black men. Information about the distribution of total, free, and 

percent free PSA will help guide public health policy in screening for prostate 

cancer. 

Keywords: Prostate-specific antigen c Prostate cancer screening c National Health 

and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 

Introduction

Prostate cancer screening using 

prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is 

common, but remains controversial even 

after 20 years since its introduction 

(1,2). PSA screening issues include 

whether to conduct screening, what age 

to begin screening, what PSA threshold 

to use before recommending a prostate 

biopsy, and what age to stop screening. 

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force 

has concluded that there is insufficient 

evidence to recommend for or against 

routine prostate cancer screening 

because it is unclear if the risks 

outweigh the benefits for screening for 

prostate cancer (3). However, the 

American Cancer Society (4) and 

American Urological Association (5) 

recommend offering information about 

screening for average-risk men 

beginning at 50 years of age. Also, they 

recommend offering information about 

screening at age 40 if men are at higher 

risk, such as African American men or 

men who have a family history of 

prostate cancer. In general, a prostate 

biopsy is highly recommended for total 

PSA values of 10 ng/mL or higher. For 

total PSA values between 4 and 10 

ng/mL, a prostate biopsy is preferred, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Center for Health Statistics 
2 Advance Data No. 379 + December 4, 2006

but lowering the threshold to 2.5 ng/mL 

has been suggested (1). The percent free 

PSA has also been recommended as an 

adjunct test for certain total PSA values 

to better discriminate whether men are 

more or less likely to develop prostate 

cancer. A lower percent free PSA is 

suggestive of prostate cancer. The 

threshold for percent free PSA has 

generally been less than 25% with some 

studies suggesting a threshold of less 

than 15% (6–8). Guidelines support 

discussing the risk and benefits of 

prostate cancer screening with men 

(3–5). 

Population-based U.S. data on the 

distribution of PSA by age and raceethnicity are helpful to both policy 

makers and clinicians. In this report, 

data from NHANES 2001–04 on the 

distributions of total, free, and percent 

free PSA for all males 40 years and 

older and for Mexican Americans, 

non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic 

black men are presented. Previous 

reports using the NHANES 2001–02 

data have been published (9–11). 

Saraiya et al. provided race- and 

ethnic-specific data on median total PSA 

and percent free PSA values and 

presented modeling data examining the 

relationship of age and PSA tests (9). 

Lowering the total PSA threshold values 

would increase the number of men to be 

screened and thus have a significant 

impact on the burden of screening. 

Saraiya reported that 1–2 million men 

50–69 years of age would have a total 

PSA value greater than 4 ng/mL and 

1–3 million would have a PSA value 

between 2.5 and 4.0 ng/mL. Using 

2001–02 data, Welch (10) similarly 

reported the number of men in the 

United States above certain PSA 

thresholds by 10-year age categories and 

compared this with the number of men 

projected to die from prostate cancer 

using incidence data from the 

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End 

Results program of the National Cancer 

Institute (12). Porter used data from 

NHANES 2001–02 and the Prostate 

Cancer Prevention Trial (13) data to 

estimate the prevalence of biopsy 

detectable prostate cancer in men 62–85 

years of age with a total PSA less than 

or equal to 4 ng/mL (11). 

The addition of NHANES 2003–04 

data used in this report allows for more 

precise estimates of the distribution of 

total, free, and percent free PSA values. 

PSA estimates among all men 40 years 

of age and older and non-Hispanic 

whites 80 years of age and older are 

provided. Also, estimates of percent free 

PSA less than or equal to 15% for 

various total PSA thresholds by age 

groups are presented. 

Methods

Study population and sample

design

The National Health and Nutrition 

Examination Survey (NHANES) 

conducted in 2001–04 is a crosssectional, nationally representative 

survey of the civilian 

noninstitutionalized population of the 

United States. The procedures for 

selecting the sample and conducting the 

interviews and examinations for 

NHANES 2001–04 have been described 

(14,15). The NHANES design is a 

stratified, multistage, probability sample. 

This multistage sample is based on a 

selection of counties, blocks, 

households, and persons within 

households. NHANES categorizes 

race-ethnicity as non-Hispanic white, 

non-Hispanic black, Mexican American, 

and other persons (other Hispanics and 

all others) (16). Because the number of 

participants was small in the ‘‘other’’ 

category, estimates by race-ethnicity 

were restricted to non-Hispanic white 

persons, non-Hispanic black persons, 

and Mexican Americans. The analysis of 

all men 40 years and older included the 

‘‘other’’ race-ethnicity group. Raceethnicity categories are based on 

self-reported data. Mexican American 

persons, non-Hispanic black persons, 

and adults 60 years and older were 

over-sampled. 

Men ages 40 years and older were 

eligible for PSA testing consisting of 

measured total and free PSA. Percent 

free PSA was calculated as free 

PSA/total PSA x 100%. For NHANES 

2001–04, 4,533 men aged 40 years or 

older were eligible to participate in the 

survey, of whom 3,326 (73.4%) were 

interviewed and 3,108 (68.6%) were 

interviewed and underwent physical 

examination. After these men received 

general information about the PSA test 

from the examining NHANES 

physician, they were offered the 

opportunity to be tested. Of these 3,108 

eligible men, 257 (8.3%) refused or did 

not give permission for the PSA test. In 

addition, men were excluded from PSA 

testing if they reported, refused to 

answer, or did not know if they had 

procedures or conditions that could alter 

PSA results. These exclusion criteria 

were current infection or inflammation 

of the prostate gland, digital rectal exam 

in the past week, prostate biopsy in the 

past 30 days, cystoscopy in the past 30 

days, or history of prostate cancer. An 

additional 231 (7.4%) had one or more 

of the exclusion criteria that could affect 

PSA levels. Also, 74 (2.4%) of eligible 

men had missing PSA values. Hence, 

2,546 of 3,108 or 81.9% of all examined 

men ages 40 years and older 

participated in the NHANES prostatespecific antigen testing. 

Collection and storage of

samples and laboratory

methods

As part of the exam, blood samples 

were drawn by venipuncture, 

centrifuged, and the sera frozen at 

–20 ̊C within 1 hour of the phlebotomy. 

Within 1 week, the frozen specimens 

were sent on dry ice to the University of 

Washington Medical Center, Department 

of Laboratory Medicine, Immunology 

Division Laboratory (Seattle, WA), 

where they were kept at –70 ̊C until 

analyzed. The PSA values were 

determined using the Hybritech total 

PSA (17) and Hybritech free PSA 

monoclonal antibody (18) assays 

(Hybritech, San Diego, CA) on the 

Beckman Coulter Access analyzer 

(Fullerton, CA). The total PSA method 

is a two-site immunoenzymatic 

‘‘sandwich’’ assay. The sample is mixed 

with mouse monoclonal anti-PSA 

alkaline phosphatase conjugate and 

paramagnetic particles coated with a 

second mouse monoclonal anti-PSA 

antibody. The PSA in the sample binds 

to the immobilized monoclonal anti-PSA 

on the solid phase while the monoclonal 

anti-PSA conjugate reacts with a 
Advance Data No. 379 + December 4, 2006 3

different antigenic site on the PSA. 

Separation in a magnetic field and 

washing removes material not bound to 

the solid phase. A chemiluminescent 

substrate is added and the complex is 

measured with a luminometer. The free 

PSA assay is also a two-site 

immunoenzymatic ‘‘sandwich’’ assay. It 

is similar to the Hybritech total PSA but 

uses a monoclonal anti-free PSA 

alkaline phosphatase conjugate and a 

mouse monoclonal anti-free PSA 

antibody. 

The total PSA test had a coefficient 

of variation of less than 4.8% for quality 

control pool means with a range of 0.16 

to 22.32 ng/mL. The free PSA test had a 

coefficient of variation of less than 5.5% 

for quality control pool means with a 

range of 0.59 to 4.77 ng/mL. 

Statistical analysis

Distributions of total, free, and 

percent free PSA for NHANES 2001–04 

were estimated for all males 40 years 

and older, and by age groups for 

Mexican American, non-Hispanic white, 

and non-Hispanic black persons 

(Tables 1–3). Age was stratified as 

40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and 70 years and 

older. There were sufficient sample sizes 

to determine PSA levels for all males 

and non-Hispanic white persons for the 

age groups 70–79 and 80 years and 

older. The mean, standard error of the 

mean, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 

and 95th percentiles were determined 

for each race-ethnicity by age group. 

The 95% confidence intervals for the 

percentiles were determined using the 

Woodruff method (19). 

Proportions at different total PSA 

threshold values were estimated for all 

men and by age and race-ethnicity 

(Table 4). The PSA threshold values 

were based on the Prostate Cancer 

Prevention Trial (13). The 95% 

confidence intervals were calculated as 

exact limits based on the binomial 

distribution. Some proportion estimates 

did not meet standards of reliability and 

precision as determined by the relative 

standard error of the proportion (SE of 

the proportion/proportion x 100%) 

greater than 30%. 

The distribution of percent free PSA 

by total PSA was estimated for age 

groups (Table 5). The percent free PSA 

was categorized as less than or equal to 

15%, greater than 15%–25%, and 

greater than 25% when sufficient sample 

size and statistical precision were 

present. Otherwise, the percent free PSA 

was dichotomized as greater than or less 

than or equal to 25%. National estimates 

of the number of men in each PSA 

group were determined by multiplying 

the percentages and confidence intervals 

by the average population estimates 

from the 2001 to 2004 Current 

Population Survey. 

Three linear regression models were 

fit to determine the relationship between 

total, free, and percent free PSA and age 

(Figures 1–3). Age was transformed in 

each model using restricted cubic spline 

functions to allow for nonlinearity (20). 

All models were adjusted for raceethnicity and examined for interaction 

between age and race-ethnicity to 

determine if the relationship between 

age and each PSA measure was similar 

across race-ethnicity groups. The PSA 

measures were log transformed in all 

models because of nonnormality. The 

predicted PSA values were then back 

transformed to the original scale. Due to 

the small number of denominator 

degrees of freedom, the F-statistic with 

Satterthwaite correction for the degrees 

of freedom was used to test significance. 

Variance estimates were calculated 

using Taylor series linearization (21). 

Sample weights, which account for the 

differential probabilities of selection, 

nonresponse, and noncoverage were 

incorporated into the variance estimation 

process. Most statistics were generated 

using SUDAAN version 9.0 (Research 

Triangle Institute, Research Triangle 

Park, NC) and SAS version 9.1 (SAS 

Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). The survey 

package version 3.4.2 in R (22,23) 

version 2.2.1 (Free Software Foundation, 

Inc., Boston, MA) was used to 

determine the percentiles and confidence 

intervals for percentiles using the 

Woodruff method (19). Ninety-five 

percent confidence intervals for 

percentiles and proportions are shown in 

parenthesis in the text. 

Results

Distribution of PSA tests

In all males and each of the 

race-ethnicity groups, the mean, median, 

75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles for total 

PSA increased by age group (Table 1). 

Overall, the median total PSA was 0.70 

(0.70–0.80) ng/mL for 40–49 years and 

increased to 2.10 (1.70–2.30) ng/mL for 

men 80 years or older. For men 70 years 

and older, the total PSA at the 75th 

Total PSA (ng/mL) NOTE: All race-ethnicity groups had significant age effects (p<0.001). The age by race-ethnicity interaction was 

significant (p<0.05). 

Age in years 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

Non-Hispanic 

black 

Non-Hispanic 

white 

Mexican American 

Figure 1. Total PSA versus age by race-ethnicity
percentile were 3.45 (2.70–4.39), 3.40

(3.10–3.90), and 5.40 (4.51–6.10) ng/mL

for Mexican American, non-Hispanic

white, and non-Hispanic black persons,

respectively. For all men and for each

race-ethnicity group, the mean, median,

75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles for free

PSA also increased with each older age

group (Table 2). For all men, the median

free PSA ranged from 0.22 (0.20–0.23)

ng/mL for men 40–49 years to 0.58

(0.50–0.72) ng/mL for men 80 years and

older. For men 70 years and older, the

free PSA at the 75th percentile was 0.67

(0.59–0.92), 0.88 (0.78–0.97), and 1.51

(0.77–1.75) ng/mL for Mexican

American, non-Hispanic white, and

non-Hispanic black persons,

respectively. In contrast to the pattern

seen with total and free PSA with age,

the median percent free PSA was

somewhat constant across the age

groups within the race-ethnicity groups

(Table 3). The median percent free PSA

ranged from 28.0% to 30.0% for the

different age groups. Non-Hispanic

black persons showed a decreasing

percent free PSA with older age. At the

90th percentile, non-Hispanic black

persons had a percent free PSA of

50.0% (45.0–56.0) for men 40–49 years

and 42.0% (38.8–44.6) for men 70 years

and older.

Relation of PSA to age

Regression analysis showed that

total PSA increased with age (Figure 1),

but the relationship between age and

total PSA varied significantly across the

three race-ethnicity groups. The total

PSA increased more steeply with age

among non-Hispanic black persons

compared with non-Hispanic white and

Mexican American persons. The free

PSA also showed an increase with age

for the three race-ethnicity groups,

however, the age by race-ethnicity

interaction was not significant

(Figure 2). There was a significant

nonlinear relationship between percent

free PSA and age among non-Hispanic

black persons (Figure 3). Increasing age

was associated with decreasing percent

free PSA for non-Hispanic black men

under 60 years of age.

PSA threshold values

The proportion of men who had

total PSA levels at or above different

thresholds is seen in Table 4. The

proportions equal to or above a total

PSA threshold increased by age in men

40 years and older in each race-ethnicity

group. Overall, 6.2% (5.2–7.2) of men

over 40 years had total PSA greater than

or equal to 4 ng/mL and 13.1%

(11.7–14.5) were greater than 2.5

ng/mL, the lower suggested screening

threshold. For men 80 years and older,

29.0% (22.4–36.4) had PSA levels

greater than or equal to 4 ng/mL.

Overall, total PSA was greater than or

equal to 4 ng/mL for 3.6% (1.8–6.2),

6.2% (5.1–7.6), and 7.8% (5.2–11.1) for

Mexican American, non-Hispanic white,

and non-Hispanic black men,

respectively. Also, 1.1% (0.7–1.6) of

Non-Hispanic 

black

Non-Hispanic 

white

Mexican American

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

Free PSA (ng/mL)

NOTE: All race-ethnicity groups had significant age effects (p<0.001). The age by race-ethnicity interaction was not 

significant (p>0.10).

Age in years

Figure 2. Free PSA versus age by race-ethnicity Percent free PSA 

NOTE: The non-Hispanic black group had significant age effects (p<0.01). The age by race-ethnicity interaction was 

significant (p<0.10).

Age in years

Non-Hispanic 

white

Non-Hispanic 

black

Mexican American

40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

0

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

36

38

Figure 3. Percent free PSA verus age by race-ethnicity

4 Advance Data No. 379 + December 4, 2006
Advance Data No. 379 + December 4, 2006 5

men had a total PSA threshold greater 

than or equal to 10 ng/mL. For men 80 

years and older, 6.3% (3.3–10.8) had 

total PSA greater than or equal to 10 

ng/mL. 

The distribution of percent free PSA 

thresholds by total PSA thresholds for 

different age groups is seen in Table 5. 

In general, as age increased, the 

percentage of men with percent free 

PSA less than or equal to 25% also 

increased across the range of total PSA 

values. For example, of men ages 40–49 

years, 6.5% (4.8–8.6) had a total PSA 

level less than 2.5 ng/mL and a percent 

free PSA less than or equal to 15%, and 

25.3% (21.3–29.7) had a total PSA level 

less than 2.5 ng/mL and a percent free 

PSA of greater than 15%–25%. Of men 

40–49 years of age, 2.3% (1.3–3.6) had 

a total PSA 2.5 to less than 4.0 ng/mL 

and a percent free PSA less than or 

equal to 25%, or an estimated 484,000 

men. There were 6.8% (4.0–10.5) of 

men ages 70–79 years with a PSA of 

2.5 to less than 4.0 ng/mL and a percent 

free PSA less than or equal to 25%. In 

this age group, 9.1% (5.6–13.6) of men 

had a PSA of 4.0 to less than 10 ng/mL 

and a percent free PSA less than or 

equal to 25%, representing 

approximately 618,000 men. All men 80 

years and older with a total PSA greater 

than or equal to 10 ng/mL had free 

percent PSA less than or equal to 25%. 

Discussion

The American Cancer Society (4) 

and the American Urological 

Association (5) recommend offering 

information regarding the risks and 

benefits of total PSA screening and 

digital rectal examination. In addition, 

the use of percent free PSA (free/total 

PSA), complexed PSA, PSA velocity, 

and PSA density with ultrasound of the 

prostate have been proposed as 

additional tests to enhance the 

specificity of total PSA (24). Recently, 

serum proteomics patterns have been 

used to detect prostate cancer (25). 

Previous reports on total and percent 

free PSA using the NHANES 2001–02 

data have been published (9–11). 

The distribution of the free PSA for 

NHANES was not reported previously. 

The age-specific distribution of free 

PSA generally followed the same age 

pattern as total PSA (Tables 1,2). With 

increasing age, both free and total PSA 

levels increased for all race-ethnicity 

groups (Figures 1,2). Non-Hispanic 

blacks had steeper increases in total 

PSA with increasing age compared with 

non-Hispanic white and Mexican 

American persons (interaction of age by 

race-ethnicity, p<0.05). 

The proportion of men at or above 

various total PSA thresholds for 

different race-ethnicity groups were 

estimated (Table 4). Age-specific 

estimates for total PSA thresholds of 1, 

2, 2.5, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10 ng/mL are 

reported for the first time for Mexican 

American, non-Hispanic white, and 

non-Hispanic black men. Estimates for 

some threshold values could not be 

reported due to limitations in sample 

size or statistical precision. 

Finally, estimates of percent free 

PSA less than or equal to 15% for 

various total PSA thresholds by age 

groups are presented for the first time 

(Table 5). The threshold for percent free 

PSA has been less than 25%, but a 

threshold of less than 15% has been 

suggested for follow-up of elevated total 

PSA levels. For total PSA of 2.5 to less 

than 4.0 ng/mL, 1.5% (1.0–2.2) of men 

40 years and older had percent free PSA 

less than or equal to 15%, and 2.9% 

(2.3–3.7) had percent free PSA greater 

than 15%– 25%. The percent free PSA 

less than or equal to 15% generally 

increased with age. The range of percent 

free PSA less than or equal to 15% was 

from 8.4% (6.4–10.7) of men ages 

40–49 to 12.9% (8.0–19.3) for men ages 

80 years and older. 

The limitation of NHANES data is 

that it is cross-sectional and does not 

allow for the diagnosis and outcome of 

prostate cancer. Also, approximately 

20% of all examined men greater than 

or equal to 40 years did not participate 

in PSA testing. Men with missing PSA 

test values were older and were more 

likely to be non-Hispanic black. 

However, the distribution of total, free, 

and percent free PSA in men ages 40 

and older using NHANES 2001–04 data 

should help guide policies of screening 

of prostate cancer. Further collection of 

PSA test data will allow for further 

stratification of the PSA data and 

increase the precision of the 

distributions among sample persons. 

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Detection of prostate cancer using 

serum proteomics pattern in a 

histologically confirmed population. J 

Urol 171:1782–7. 2004. 
7

mL)

Percentiles (95% confidence intervals) of distribution

Geometric

mean (SE) 5 10 25 50 75 90 95

0.94 (0.02) 0.30 (0.20–0.30) 0.40 (0.30–0.40) 0.50 (0.50–0.60) 0.90 (0.80–0.90) 1.50 (1.40–1.60) 2.90 (2.70–3.20) 4.40 (4.00–4.90)

0.73 (0.02) 0.30 (0.20–0.30) 0.30 (0.30–0.40) 0.50 (0.50–0.50) 0.70 (0.70–0.80) 1.00 (1.00–1.10) 1.60 (1.40–1.80) 2.20 (1.80–2.60)0.92 (0.03) 0.30 (0.20–0.30) 0.40 (0.30–0.40) 0.50 (0.50–0.60) 0.90 (0.80–1.00) 1.50 (1.37–1.70) 2.43 (2.20–2.70) 3.60 (2.82–4.40)1.13 (0.05) 0.24 (0.20–0.30) 0.40 (0.30–0.40) 0.60 (0.50–0.70) 1.10 (1.00–1.30) 2.09 (1.90–2.30) 3.49 (3.20–4.00) 5.20 (4.40–5.60)

1.66 (0.06) 0.30 (0.20–0.40) 0.40 (0.30–0.50) 0.80 (0.80–0.90) 1.60 (1.50–1.80) 3.50 (3.20–3.90) 6.20 (5.60–7.04) 8.94 (7.60–10.72)

1.56 (0.08) 0.30 (0.20–0.40) 0.40 (0.40–0.50) 0.80 (0.70–0.80) 1.50 (1.40–1.70) 3.20 (2.90–3.70) 5.44 (4.99–6.51) 8.02 (6.38–10.00)

1.98 (0.17) 0.20 (0.10–0.30) 0.40 (0.20–0.50) 1.09 (0.70–1.25) 2.10 (1.70–2.30) 4.38 (3.48–5.60) 7.69 (6.50–10.80) **

0.91 (0.04) 0.30 (0.30–0.40) 0.40 (0.40–0.50) 0.60 (0.50–0.60) 0.80 (0.80–0.90) 1.30 (1.27–1.40) 2.47 (1.98–3.02) 3.60 (2.90–4.50)

0.78 (0.05) 0.40 (0.10–0.40) 0.40 (0.30–0.50) 0.50 (0.50–0.60) 0.71 (0.70–0.80) 1.10 (1.00–1.20) 1.40 (1.30–1.70) 1.87 (1.41–3.56)0.95 (0.06) 0.30 (0.20–0.45) 0.40 (0.30–0.50) 0.60 (0.50–0.60) 0.90 (0.63–1.00) 1.60 (1.30–1.87) 2.48 (1.96–3.60) 3.16 (2.47–4.50)1.08 (0.10) 0.29 (0.10–0.30) 0.35 (0.28–0.40) 0.52 (0.40–0.70) 1.00 (0.80–1.30) 1.90 (1.60–2.30) *3.39 (2.80–7.30) **

1.68 (0.13) 0.40 (0.10–0.50) 0.52 (0.40–0.60) 0.90 (0.71–1.10) 1.60 (1.30–1.90) 3.45 (2.70–4.39) 4.85 (3.91–7.99) **0.94 (0.02) 0.30 (0.20–0.30) 0.40 (0.30–0.40) 0.50 (0.50–0.60) 0.90 (0.80–0.90) 1.60 (1.40–1.70) 2.90 (2.60–3.20) 4.30 (4.00–4.90)

0.74 (0.03) 0.30 (0.20–0.30) 0.30 (0.30–0.40) 0.50 (0.50–0.50) 0.70 (0.70–0.80) 1.10 (1.00–1.20) 1.60 (1.50–1.90) 2.37 (1.84–2.70)0.88 (0.04) 0.30 (0.10–0.30) 0.40 (0.30–0.40) 0.50 (0.40–0.60) 0.90 (0.70–0.90) 1.40 (1.30–1.70) 2.40 (2.20–2.70) 3.11 (2.60–4.83)1.13 (0.06) 0.24 (0.19–0.30) 0.40 (0.30–0.40) 0.60 (0.50–0.70) 1.10 (1.00–1.30) 2.10 (1.90–2.40) 3.40 (3.20–4.05) 4.98 (4.11–5.59)

1.63 (0.07) 0.30 (0.20–0.40) 0.40 (0.30–0.50) 0.80 (0.70–0.90) 1.70 (1.50–1.80) 3.40 (3.10–3.90) 6.00 (5.30–6.80) 8.66 (7.00–11.06)

1.54 (0.09) 0.30 (0.20–0.40) 0.40 (0.40–0.50) 0.80 (0.70–0.80) 1.50 (1.40–1.80) 3.20 (2.80–3.70) 5.30 (4.52–6.21) 7.01 (6.00–10.28)

1.89 (0.16) 0.21 (0.10–0.30) 0.40 (0.23–0.50) 1.00 (0.67–1.25) 1.90 (1.70–2.30) 4.07 (3.30–5.52) 7.65 (6.40–10.80) *10.80 (8.40–22.46)

0.99 (0.05) 0.30 (0.20–0.40) 0.40 (0.37–0.40) 0.50 (0.50–0.60) 0.90 (0.80–1.00) 1.60 (1.40–1.85) 2.80 (2.35–4.50) 5.45 (4.50–7.70)

0.74 (0.04) 0.30 (0.10–0.40) 0.40 (0.30–0.40) 0.50 (0.40–0.60) 0.70 (0.70–0.80) 1.10 (1.00–1.20) 1.73 (1.34–2.00) 2.00 (1.80–2.59)1.04 (0.10) 0.40 (0.20–0.40) 0.40 (0.40–0.50) 0.50 (0.50–0.68) 0.80 (0.75–1.10) 1.80 (1.30–2.20) 2.80 (2.25–4.79) **1.54 (0.17) 0.30 (0.10–0.40) 0.40 (0.30–0.56) 0.79 (0.50–1.00) 1.50 (1.20–1.77) 2.70 (2.00–3.79) *5.77 (3.70–11.88) 10.30 (7.47–14.28)

2.16 (0.42) ** *0.40 (0.10–0.62) 0.89 (0.50–1.20) ** 5.40 (4.51–6.10)  

d the value was suppressed.

nicity, but they are not shown separately.

Advance Data No. 379+ December4, 2006
8

mL)

Percentiles (95% confidence intervals) of distribution

Geometric

mean (SE) 5 10 25 50 75 90 95

0.27 (0.01) 0.08 (0.07–0.09) 0.11 (0.10–0.12) 0.17 (0.16–0.18) 0.26 (0.25–0.27) 0.41 (0.38–0.44) 0.67 (0.63–0.73) 0.97 (0.88–1.07)

0.21 (0.01) 0.08 (0.07–0.09) 0.10 (0.09–0.12) 0.14 (0.13–0.16) 0.22 (0.20–0.23) 0.31 (0.29–0.34) 0.43 (0.40–0.49) 0.51 (0.48–0.59)0.25 (0.01) 0.09 (0.07–0.10) 0.12 (0.09–0.13) 0.17 (0.16–0.18) 0.24 (0.23–0.26) 0.39 (0.35–0.46) 0.57 (0.54–0.63) 0.73 (0.66–0.79)0.32 (0.01) 0.09 (0.06–0.10) 0.12 (0.10–0.14) 0.19 (0.18–0.23) 0.32 (0.30–0.35) 0.51 (0.47–0.55) 0.82 (0.74–0.94) 1.08 (0.99–1.24)

0.47 (0.02) 0.09 (0.06–0.12) 0.15 (0.12–0.18) 0.27 (0.25–0.29) 0.46 (0.43–0.50) 0.89 (0.81–0.98) 1.56 (1.43–1.69) 2.10 (1.87–2.40)

0.44 (0.02) 0.10 (0.06–0.13) 0.15 (0.12–0.19) 0.26 (0.23–0.28) 0.42 (0.38–0.46) 0.82 (0.71–0.91) 1.40 (1.19–1.56) 1.76 (1.57–2.23)

0.56 (0.04) 0.07 (0.04–0.11) 0.13 (0.10–0.17) 0.32 (0.24–0.36) 0.58 (0.50–0.72) 1.12 (0.93–1.35) 1.99 (1.64–2.60) 2.92 (2.09–4.40)

0.24 (0.01) 0.08 (0.06–0.10) 0.12 (0.09–0.13) 0.16 (0.15–0.17) 0.23 (0.21–0.24) 0.32 (0.31–0.36) 0.54 (0.49–0.65) 0.72 (0.66–0.96)

0.21 (0.01) 0.08 (0.05–0.12) 0.12 (0.08–0.15) 0.16 (0.15–0.17) 0.21 (0.19–0.23) 0.28 (0.26–0.30) 0.36 (0.31–0.40) 0.43 (0.39–0.56)0.23 (0.01) 0.07 (0.04–0.09) 0.09 (0.06–0.13) 0.15 (0.13–0.19) 0.23 (0.20–0.27) 0.33 (0.31–0.38) 0.53 (0.38–0.82) 0.67 (0.54–1.13)0.29 (0.02) 0.07 (0.04–0.09) 0.10 (0.07–0.13) 0.18 (0.14–0.19) 0.28 (0.24–0.34) 0.50 (0.42–0.62) 0.86 (0.62–1.25) ** 

0.42 (0.03) 0.10 (0.07–0.13) 0.13 (0.09–0.17) 0.22 (0.18–0.30) 0.42 (0.39–0.53) 0.67 (0.59–0.92) ** **

0.27 (0.01) 0.08 (0.07–0.09) 0.11 (0.10–0.12) 0.17 (0.16–0.18) 0.26 (0.25–0.28) 0.42 (0.39–0.46) 0.70 (0.65–0.75) 0.99 (0.88–1.10)

0.22 (0.01) 0.08 (0.05–0.09) 0.10 (0.08–0.12) 0.14 (0.13–0.17) 0.22 (0.20–0.25) 0.33 (0.29–0.36) 0.45 (0.41–0.51) 0.53 (0.49–0.67)0.25 (0.01) 0.08 (0.06–0.10) 0.12 (0.09–0.13) 0.17 (0.15–0.18) 0.24 (0.22–0.26) 0.38 (0.33–0.47) 0.56 (0.51–0.63) 0.72 (0.65–0.80)0.32 (0.01) 0.09 (0.06–0.10) 0.11 (0.10–0.14) 0.20 (0.17–0.23) 0.32 (0.29–0.35) 0.51 (0.47–0.54) 0.82 (0.71–0.95) 1.07 (0.87–1.30)

0.47 (0.02) 0.10 (0.08–0.12) 0.15 (0.12–0.19) 0.27 (0.25–0.29) 0.46 (0.43–0.51) 0.88 (0.78–0.97) 1.49 (1.34–1.60) 2.02 (1.69–2.18)

0.44 (0.02) 0.10 (0.08–0.14) 0.15 (0.13–0.20) 0.27 (0.24–0.28) 0.43 (0.38–0.46) 0.83 (0.73–0.93) 1.32 (1.18–1.49) 1.63 (1.49–2.16)

0.54 (0.04) 0.08 (0.04–0.11) 0.13 (0.11–0.17) 0.30 (0.24–0.36) 0.56 (0.50–0.69) 1.08 (0.86–1.33) 1.98 (1.58–2.21) 2.60 (2.09–3.27)

0.28 (0.01) 0.10 (0.06–0.11) 0.12 (0.10–0.14) 0.17 (0.15–0.18) 0.26 (0.24–0.28) 0.41 (0.38–0.47) 0.67 (0.58–0.91) 1.22 (0.84–1.61)

0.22 (0.01) 0.10 (0.05–0.10) 0.10 (0.10–0.12) 0.15 (0.14–0.17) 0.23 (0.21–0.25) 0.31 (0.28–0.34) 0.41 (0.38–0.49) 0.49 (0.45–0.56)0.29 (0.02) 0.10 (0.07–0.13) 0.13 (0.11–0.15) 0.17 (0.15–0.20) 0.27 (0.23–0.33) 0.42 (0.33–0.60) 0.67 (0.56–1.04) 0.99 (0.67–1.59)0.41 (0.04) 0.10 (0.05–0.14) 0.14 (0.09–0.19) 0.25 (0.19–0.30) 0.42 (0.34–0.48) 0.66 (0.54–0.76) ** *1.93 (1.16–4.19)

0.56 (0.10) *0.08 (0.04–0.15) 0.15 (0.04–0.19) 0.22 (0.17–0.29) 0.56 (0.33–0.78) 1.51 (0.77–1.75) ** *4.14 (1.76–7.02)

d the value was suppressed.

nicity, but they are not shown separately.

Advance Data No. 379+ December4, 2006
9

PSA

Percentiles (95% confidence intervals) of distribution

Geometric

mean (SE) 5 10 25 50 75 90 95

28.35 (0.50) 13.0 (12.0–14.0) 16.0 (15.0–17.0) 22.0 (21.0–23.0) 29.0 (28.0–30.0) 39.0 (38.0–40.0) 48.0 (47.0–50.0) 53.0 (52.0–55.6)

28.94 (0.63) 13.0 (12.0–14.0) 17.0 (14.0–18.0) 22.9 (20.0–23.0) 30.0 (28.0–32.0) 40.0 (38.0–42.0) 49.0 (47.0–50.1) 53.0 (50.1–57.9)27.72 (0.54) 13.0 (11.0–14.0) 15.0 (14.0–17.0) 22.0 (20.0–23.0) 28.0 (27.0–29.0) 38.0 (36.0–40.0) 47.8 (45.0–49.9) 53.0 (50.0–59.2)28.08 (0.73) 13.0 (12.0–15.0) 16.0 (15.0–18.0) 22.0 (20.0–23.0) 28.0 (27.0–30.0) 38.0 (35.0–40.0) 46.0 (43.0–50.0) 53.0 (50.0–60.0)

28.29 (0.86) 13.0 (8.8–14.0) 15.0 (13.0–17.0) 22.0 (20.0–24.0) 30.0 (28.0–31.0) 39.0 (37.0–40.0) 47.8 (46.0–50.0) 55.0 (51.0–58.0)

28.24 (0.93) 12.5 (11.3–13.0) 15.0 (13.0–17.0) 22.0 (20.0–24.0) 30.0 (28.0–31.6) 38.0 (36.0–40.0) 47.0 (45.2–50.0) 53.0 (50.0–60.0)

28.41 (1.10) 13.0 (8.7–14.0) 15.0 (13.0–16.5) 21.0 (18.0–23.0) 30.0 (27.0–33.0) 40.0 (38.5–41.0) 50.0 (46.0–55.0) 57.0 (53.0–58.1)

26.14 (0.63) 13.0 (11.0–13.0) 15.0 (13.0–16.0) 20.0 (19.0–21.0) 27.0 (26.0–28.0) 35.0 (33.0–37.4) 43.0 (40.2–48.5) 50.0 (47.0–52.0)

26.83 (0.87) 13.0 (7.2–14.6) 16.0 (13.0–17.5) 20.0 (19.0–23.0) 28.0 (26.0–30.0) 35.7 (34.0–38.0) 43.0 (40.0–48.5) 47.8 (43.0–58.8)24.72 (0.93) 13.0 (11.0–13.0) 13.4 (12.0–17.0) 18.0 (15.9–20.0) 23.0 (21.0–27.0) 32.5 (29.0–39.0) 43.0 (38.7–51.4) 50.0 (43.0–67.0)26.84 (1.56) 12.0 (4.0–15.4) 15.7 (11.5–18.0) 20.0 (18.3–22.1) 26.0 (23.0–30.2) 36.0 (32.0–41.5) 46.6 (40.0–60.7) 57.5 (47.2–89.3)

25.02 (0.84) 11.9 (11.0–12.7) 14.0 (11.5–16.0) 20.0 (16.0–21.0) 26.0 (22.8–28.0) 31.0 (30.0–35.1) 41.1 (37.0–50.5) 49.8 (43.9–57.8)28.64 (0.48) 13.0 (12.0–14.0) 16.2 (15.0–17.0) 23.0 (21.7–23.0) 29.0 (28.0–30.0) 39.0 (38.0–40.0) 48.0 (47.0–50.0) 54.0 (53.0–57.0)

29.18 (0.64) 13.0 (12.0–15.0) 17.0 (15.0–18.0) 23.0 (21.0–23.0) 30.0 (28.0–32.0) 40.0 (38.8–43.0) 49.0 (48.0–52.6) 54.0 (51.0–58.0)28.28 (0.56) 13.0 (12.0–14.0) 16.3 (14.0–18.0) 23.0 (21.0–23.0) 28.0 (27.0–30.0) 38.0 (35.0–40.0) 47.3 (43.0–50.0) 54.0 (50.0–60.0)27.91 (0.86) 13.0 (11.6–15.0) 16.0 (14.4–18.0) 22.0 (20.0–23.0) 28.0 (26.0–30.0) 38.0 (35.0–40.0) 44.8 (40.0–52.0) 52.5 (47.0–63.9)

28.77 (0.96) 13.0 (7.6–15.0) 15.0 (13.0–17.0) 22.0 (20.0–24.0) 30.0 (28.0–32.0) 39.0 (38.0–41.0) 50.0 (47.0–50.3) 57.0 (52.0–60.0)

28.79 (1.08) 12.3 (9.4–14.0) 15.0 (13.0–18.0) 22.0 (20.0–26.0) 30.0 (28.0–32.8) 39.0 (36.0–41.0) 47.4 (46.0–50.1) 53.6 (50.0–61.2)

28.73 (1.22) 13.0 (8.6–14.3) 15.0 (13.0–17.0) 21.0 (18.0–24.0) 30.0 (26.4–33.0) 40.0 (39.0–42.0) 50.0 (47.0–57.0) 57.0 (53.0–61.5)

28.33 (0.67) 12.5 (11.0–13.0) 15.0 (13.0–16.0) 21.0 (19.0–23.0) 30.0 (28.0–33.0) 40.0 (38.0–41.0) 48.0 (46.0–50.0) 54.0 (51.8–56.0)

29.68 (1.16) 13.0 (11.4–15.0) 16.0 (13.0–18.0) 23.0 (18.9–26.0) 31.0 (27.5–34.0) 41.0 (38.0–43.0) 50.0 (45.0–56.0) 56.0 (52.0–62.1)27.63 (0.97) 11.0 (5.1–14.2) 15.3 (10.3–17.7) 21.1 (19.0–23.0) 28.0 (26.4–30.0) 40.0 (37.3–43.0) 48.0 (45.1–51.0) 51.0 (48.0–54.9)26.77 (1.60) 10.0 (5.0–12.8) 13.0 (10.0–15.0) 18.0 (15.0–23.0) 29.0 (25.0–33.0) 39.0 (35.6–43.9) 47.8 (42.2–59.2) 54.0 (47.9–88.0)

26.09 (1.17) 10.3 (6.0–12.0) 12.0 (8.7–16.2) 20.0 (17.0–23.3) 29.8 (27.4–32.0) 36.0 (33.0–40.0) 42.0 (38.8–44.6) 43.3 (41.6–48.0)

nicity, but they are not shown separately.

Advance Data No. 379+ December4, 2006
10

ervals) of men at different total PSA thresholds

PSA ≥ 1 ng/mL PSA ≥ 2 ng/mL PSA ≥ 2.5 ng/mL PSA ≥ 3 ng/mL PSA ≥ 4 ng/mL PSA ≥ 6 ng/mL PSA ≥ 8 ng/mL PSA ≥ 10 ng/mL

45.1 (42.4–47.9) 17.8 (16.3–19.4) 13.1 (11.7–14.5) 9.5 (8.1–10.9) 6.2 (5.2–7.2) 2.9 (2.2–3.6) 1.7 (1.2–2.2) 1.1 (0.7–1.6)

31.3 (26.9–35.9) 6.0 (4.1–8.4) 4.2 (2.7–6.3) *2.3 (0.9–5.0) *1.7 (0.6–3.7) ** ** **

45.7 (41.0–50.5) 16.7 (13.0–21.1) 10.0 (7.4–13.1) 6.4 (3.9–9.9) 3.8 (2.3–5.9) *1.6 (0.6–3.4) ** **

57.6 (51.9–63.2) 27.2 (23.5–31.1) 20.2 (16.8–24.1) 14.9 (12.0–18.1) 8.0 (5.9–10.6) 3.6 (2.2–5.5) 1.9 (0.9–3.4) *1.1 (0.4–2.3)

70.0 (66.4–73.4) 44.0 (40.1–48.0) 36.9 (33.3–40.6) 30.5 (27.1–34.0) 22.0 (19.0–25.3) 11.2 (9.0–13.8) 6.3 (4.3–8.9) 4.1 (2.6–6.1)

67.3 (62.7–71.6) 41.5 (36.8–46.4) 35.1 (30.6–39.7) 28.3 (24.0–32.9) 19.5 (15.5–23.9) 8.8 (5.8–12.8) 5.1 (3.2–7.8) 3.3 (1.6–5.8)

77.3 (70.3–83.3) 50.8 (43.3–58.3) 42.0 (34.3–49.9) 36.3 (29.8–43.2) 29.0 (22.4–36.4) 17.7 (13.2–23.0) 9.6 (5.3–15.8) 6.3 (3.3–10.8)

42.7 (37.3–48.2) 13.6 (10.5–17.3) 10.2 (6.9–14.4) 6.7 (4.1–10.4) 3.6 (1.8–6.2) *1.4 (0.5–2.8) ** **

33.7 (25.4–42.9) *5.3 (2.0–11.1) **   **  ** **

48.1 (36.3–60.0) 17.5 (9.6–28.0) *11.1 (5.0–20.5) **   **  **

50.7 (40.9–60.5) 24.0 (17.2–32.0) 17.6 (10.6–26.5) 15.0 (7.8–25.0) *8.5 (3.2–17.8) **  

71.8 (62.2–80.2) 40.2 (30.8–50.2) 38.0 (28.3–48.5) 31.2 (21.4–42.5) 18.8 (10.2–30.3) 4.7 (1.5–10.6) **  **

45.4 (42.1–48.7) 18.4 (16.5–20.5) 13.5 (11.7–15.3) 9.6 (8.0–11.4) 6.2 (5.1–7.6) 2.7 (1.9–3.6) 1.5 (1.0–2.3) 1.0 (0.6–1.7)

31.6 (26.3–37.4) 6.5 (4.2–9.5) 4.9 (2.9– 7.6) *2.7 (1.0–5.8) **   ** 

44.1 (38.5–49.8) 15.8 (11.1–21.5) 9.2 (6.2–12.9) 5.5 (2.7–9.8) *3.2 (1.5–6.0) ** ** **

57.6 (51.0–64.1) 27.8 (22.7–33.4) 20.6 (16.0–25.7) 14.9 (11.0–19.6) 7.6 (4.8–11.3) 3.3 (1.5–6.0) *1.4 (0.4–3.5) **

69.7 (65.5–73.7) 44.0 (39.6–48.5) 35.9 (31.7–40.3) 29.2 (25.3–33.4) 21.1 (17.6–25.0) 10.5 (8.0–13.6) 5.8 (3.7–8.7) 4.1 (2.5–6.4)

67.2 (61.5–72.5) 41.9 (36.2–47.7) 34.3 (28.9–40.0) 27.3 (22.3–32.8) 19.0 (14.7–23.9) 8.2 (4.9–12.6) 4.3 (2.2–7.4) *3.3 (1.5–6.3)

76.4 (68.6–83.1) 49.6 (41.7–57.6) 40.0 (32.2–48.3) 34.3 (27.7–41.3) 26.6 (19.8–34.4) 16.8 (11.9–22.7) 9.8 (5.4–16.1) 6.1 (3.0–10.8)

45.7 (40.1–51.3) 19.0 (14.6–24.1) 12.5 (9.2–16.3) 9.5 (6.6–13.2) 7.8 (5.2–11.1) 4.3 (2.6–6.7) 3.0 (1.6–5.1) *1.9 (0.9–3.7)

33.7 (26.7–41.2) *5.9 (2.2–12.5) **   **  ** **

47.4 (35.6–59.3) 24.2 (16.3–33.8) 13.9 (7.8–22.2) *8.5 (3.7–16.3) *7.9 (3.2–15.7) ** ** **

68.3 (58.2–77.3) 35.7 (26.3–45.9) 26.5 (18.2–36.4) 21.3 (13.7–30.7) 16.6 (9.1–26.7) *9.8 (4.3–18.5) *9.1 (3.6–18.0) *5.7 (2.0–12.3)

70.8 (56.8–82.4) 47.9 (33.8–62.3) 46.2 (31.1–61.9) 43.6 (29.1–58.9) 37.2 (24.8–51.0) 20.0 (10.8–32.2) *12.7 (4.9–25.5) **

d the value was suppressed.

nicity, but they are not shown separately.

Advance Data No. 379+ December4, 2006
Advance Data No. 379 + December 4, 2006 11

Table 5. Distribution of percent free PSA by total PSA for different age groups

Age group and Percent Percent Estimated

Total PSA free PSA of men population

(ng/mL) (percent) Number (95% CI) (95% CI)2

All men1

Total ................... Total 2,546 100.0 57,609,000

≤15 259 9.2 (7.6–11.0) 5,305,000 (4,391,000–6,339,000)

>15–25 714 28.0 (25.8–30.3) 16,136,000 (14,889,000–17,430,000)

>25 1,573 62.8 (59.6–65.9) 36,168,000 (34,319,000–37,971,000)

0 to <2.5 ................ Total 2,077 86.9 (85.5–88.3) 50,091,000 (49,234,000–50,890,000)

≤15 121 5.0 (3.9–6.4) 2,898,000 (2,252,000–3,663,000)

>15–25 543 23.1 (21.0–25.3) 13,282,000 (12,071,000–14,553,000)

>25 1,413 58.9 (55.9–61.8) 33,911,000 (32,219,000–35,576,000)

2.5+ ................... Total 469 13.1 (11.7–14.5) 7,519,000 (6,720,000–8,376,000)

2.5 to <4.0 ............... Total 224 6.9 (5.8–8.0) 3,960,000 (3,361,000–4,629,000)

≤15 47 1.5 (1.0–2.2) 867,000 (555,000–1,290,000)

>15–25 91 2.9 (2.3–3.7) 1,681,000 (1,304,000–2,132,000)

>25 86 2.4 (1.9–3.1) 1,411,000 (1,086,000–1,802,000)

4.0+ ................... Total 245 6.2 (5.2–7.2) 3,559,000 (3,012,000–4,170,000)

4.0 to <10 ............... Total 195 5.1 (4.2–6.1) 2,929,000 (2,413,000–3,517,000)

≤15 58 1.9 (1.3–2.8) 1,107,000 (731,000–1,605,000)

>15–25 67 1.8 (1.3–2.4) 1,020,000 (730,000–1,386,000)

>25 70 1.4 (1.0–1.9) 802,000 (561,000–1,110,000)

10.0+ .................. Total 50 1.1 (0.7–1.6) 630,000 (419,000–909,000)

≤15 33 0.8 (0.5–1.2) 433,000 (261,000–673,000)

>15–25 13 *0.3 (0.1–0.6) *153,000 (60,000–318,000)

>25 4 ** **

40–49 years

Total ................... Total 747 100.0 21,363,000

≤15 59 8.4 (6.4–10.7) 1,786,000 (1,365,000–2,285,000)

>15–25 204 27.4 (23.4–31.8) 5,859,000 (4,993,000–6,787,000)

>25 484 64.2 (59.4–68.8) 13,718,000 (12,686,000–14,707,000)

0 to <2.5 ................ Total 718 95.8 (93.7–97.3) 20,464,000 (20,021,000–20,793,000)

≤15 48 6.5 (4.8–8.6) 1,396,000 (1,028,000–1,844,000)

>15–25 189 25.3 (21.3–29.7) 5,406,000 (4,542,000–6,342,000)

>25 481 64.0 (59.3–68.5) 13,663,000 (12,660,000–14,625,000)

2.5+ ................... Total 29 4.2 (2.7–6.3) 899,000 (570,000–1,341,000)

2.5 to <4.0 ............... Total 20 2.5 (1.5–3.9) 540,000 (326,000–838,000)

>25 17 2.3 (1.3–3.6) 484,000 (283,000–770,000)

4.0+ ................... Total 9 *1.7 (0.6–3.7) *359,000 (129,000–787,000)

4.0 to <10.0 .............. Total 8 ** **

10.0+ .................. Total 1  

50–59 years

Total ................... Total 546 100.0 16,373,000

≤15 60 10.0 (7.3–13.4) 1,640,000 (1,189,000–2,188,000)

15–25 171 29.5 (24.9–34.4) 4,831,000 (4,078,000–5,639,000)

25 315 60.5 (56.2–64.6) 9,902,000 (9,201,000–10,585,000)

0 to <2.5 ................ Total 487 90.0 (86.9–92.6) 14,733,000 (14,226,000–15,155,000)

≤15 32 5.3 (3.4–7.7) 866,000 (564,000–1,264,000)

15–25 147 25.6 (21.4–30.2) 4,197,000 (3,510,000–4,943,000)

25 308 59.1 (54.8–63.2) 9,671,000 (8,974,000–10,351,000)

2.5+ ................... Total 59 10.0 (7.4–13.1) 1,640,000 (1,218,000–2,147,000)

2.5 to <4.0 ............... Total 36 6.2 (4.3–8.6) 1,013,000 (701,000–1,408,000)

≤25 31 4.9 (3.0–7.5) 809,000 (499,000–1,231,000)

4.0+ ................... Total 23 3.8 (2.3–5.9) 627,000 (379,000–970,000)

4.0 to <10.0 .............. Total 18 3.0 (1.6–5.1) 497,000 (265,000–842,000)

≤25 16 2.9 (1.4–5.1) 469,000 (231,000–841,000)

10.0+ .................. Total 5 **  **

See footnotes at end of table.
12 Advance Data No. 379 + December 4, 2006

Table 5. Distribution of percent free PSA by total PSA for different age groups—Con.

Age group and Percent Percent Estimated

Total PSA free PSA of men population

(ng/mL) (percent) Number (95% CI) (95% CI)2

60–69 years

Total ................... Total 555 100.0 9,932,000

≤15 57 8.2 (6.0–10.8) 812,000 (594,000–1,078,000)

>15%–25 173 30.8 (25.8–36.3) 3,064,000 (2,559,000–3,605,000)

>25 325 61.0 (55.0–66.8) 6,056,000 (5,458,000–6,631,000)

0 to 2.5 ................. Total 439 79.8 (75.9–83.2) 7,921,000 (7,543,000–8,264,000)

≤15 20 *2.7 (1.2–5.1) *271,000 (123,000–511,000)

15%–25 126 22.5 (18.8–26.6) 2,234,000 (1,864,000–2,639,000)

>25 293 54.5 (49.6–59.4) 5,416,000 (4,926,000–5,901,000)

2.5+ ................... Total 116 20.2 (16.8–24.1) 2,011,000 (1,668,000–2,389,000)

2.5 to 4.0 ................ Total 61 12.2 (8.9–16.2) 1,212,000 (883,000–1,609,000)

≤25 39 7.3 (4.6–10.8) 722,000 (456,000–1,077,000)

>25 22 4.9 (2.7–8.2) 489,000 (265,000–817,000)

4.0+ ................... Total 55 8.0 (5.9–10.6) 799,000 (588,000–1,056,000)

4.0 to 10.0 ............... Total 43 7.0 (5.0–9.4) 691,000 (495,000–934,000)

≤25 35 5.5 (3.7–7.9) 551,000 (367,000–789,000)

>25 8 *1.4 (0.5–3.0) *141,000 (53,000–300,000)

10.0+ .................. Total 12 *1.1 (0.4–2.3) *108,000 (40,000–233,000)

≤25 10 *1.0 (0.3–2.2) *98,000 (34,000–220,000)

70–79 years

Total ................... Total 447 100.0 6,817,000

≤15 51 10.6 (6.8–15.5) 720,000 (463,000–1,054,000)

>15%–25 105 22.5 (17.0–28.8) 1,533,000 (1,160,000–1,961,000)

>25 291 66.9 (58.3–74.8) 4,563,000 (3,974,000–5,100,000)

0 to 2.5 ................. Total 288 64.9 (60.3–69.4) 4,427,000 (4,112,000–4,729,000)

≤25 67 14.6 (9.6–20.8) 993,000 (656,000–1,416,000)

>25 221 50.4 (43.8–57.0) 3,435,000 (2,983,000–3,885,000)

2.5+ ................... Total 159 35.1 (30.6–39.7) 2,390,000 (2,088,000–2,705,000)

2.5 to 4.0 ................ Total 71 15.6 (12.4–19.3) 1,063,000 (842,000–1,316,000)

≤25 36 6.8 (4.0–10.5) 461,000 (276,000–716,000)

>25 35 8.8 (6.1–12.4) 602,000 (412,000–842,000)

4.0+ ................... Total 88 19.5 (15.5–23.9) 1,326,000 (1,059,000–1,627,000)

4.0 to 10.0 ............... Total 73 16.2 (12.4–20.7) 1,105,000 (842,000–1,410,000)

≤25 40 9.1 (5.6–13.6) 618,000 (384,000–930,000)

>25 33 7.1 (4.9–10.0) 486,000 (333,000–680,000)

10.0+ .................. Total 15 3.3 (1.6–5.8) 222,000 (111,000–394,000)

≤25 13 2.7 (1.4–4.6) 181,000 (93,000–316,000)

80 years and above

Total ................... Total 251 100.0 3,125,000

≤15 32 12.9 (8.0–19.3) 403,000 (249,000–604,000)

>15%–25 61 25.7 (20.4–31.5) 802,000 (636,000–985,000)

>25 158 61.5 (53.9–68.6) 1,921,000 (1,686,000–2,144,000)

0 to <2.5 ................ Total 145 58.0 (50.1–65.7) 1,814,000 (1,566,000–2,052,000)

≤25 35 14.4 (10.3–19.4) 451,000 (323,000–606,000)

>25 110 43.6 (37.2–50.2) 1,363,000 (1,162,000–1,568,000)

2.5+ ................... Total 106 42.0 (34.3–49.9) 1,311,000 (1,073,000–1,559,000)

2.5 to <4.0 ............... Total 36 12.9 (9.1–17.7) 405,000 (283,000–554,000)

≤25 15 5.3 (2.7–9.3) 167,000 (85,000–292,000)

>25 21 7.6 (4.4–12.1) 238,000 (137,000–378,000

4.0+ ................... Total 70 29.0 (22.4–36.4) 907,000 (700,000–1,136,000)

4.0 to <10.0 .............. Total 53 22.7 (17.2–29.0) 709,000 (537,000–907,000)

≤25 26 12.5 (7.8–18.5) 389,000 (245,000–577,000)

>25 27 10.3 (6.4–15.3) 320,000 (200,000–479,000)

10.0+ .................. Total 17 6.3 (3.3–10.8) 197,000 (103,000–336,000)

≤25 17 6.3 (3.3–10.8) 197,000 (103,000–336,000)

* Relative standard error 30–40 percent.

** Relative standard error is greater than 40 percent, and the value was suppressed. 1

All men includes sample persons of ‘‘other’’ race-ethnicity, but they are not shown separately. 2

Estimated population and 95% confidence interval are rounded to nearest 1,000.
16 Advance Data No. 379 + December 4, 2006

Suggested citation

Lacher DA, Thompson TD, Hughes JP,

Saraiya M. Total, free, and percent free

prostate-specific antigen levels among U.S.

men, 2001–04. Advance data from vital and

health statistics; no 379. Hyattsville, MD:

National Center for Health Statistics. 2006.

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