Washington, Nov 2 (ANI): Frequent urination at night can help protect against bladder cancer, says a new study.

A team of Spanish and American scientists suggests direct association between the number of times people get up at night to urinate and protection against bladder cancer.

Juan Alguacil, a researcher from the University of Huelva and one of the authors, suggest that night-time is usually the period during which there is the longest time interval between urination.

The length of time carcinogenic agents, such as those from tobacco for example, are present in the urine, constitutes an important factor towards the likelihood of developing bladder cancer, Science Daily quoted Alguacil as saying.

During the study, the researchers analysed the urinary frequency in 884 recently diagnosed bladder cancer cases and in 996 non-cancer control patients

They found that those people who usually get up at night at least twice to pass urine reduced their risk of suffering from bladder cancer by 40-59 pct.

This protective effect was found in both men and women and did not relate to the consumption of tobacco or the quantity of water they drank.

The research is published in International Journal of Cancer. (ANI)