Sunday, July 28, 2013

The taller the woman, the higher her cancer risk

Posted by Neill Abayon

The ability to reach items on high shelves and easily see through a crowd may no longer have the same appeal for some women. A study recently published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention finds a link between postmenopausal women's height and cancers.


According to the study, the taller a woman's stature is, the higher the risk of cancer at a number of different sites, including breast, colon, endometrium, kidney, ovary, rectum and thyroid. Additionally, taller women have a greater risk of developing multiple myeloma and melanoma.

All of these associations did not change after adjusting for known influencers of these cancers, such as age, weight, education, smoking habits, alcohol intake and hormone therapy. The researchers say that height even had more influence over cancer risk than a common measure of obesity, body mass index (BMI).

Researchers studied 144,701 women aged 50 to 79 who participated in the Women's Health Initiative from 1993 to 1998. After a follow-up 12 years later, in total, 20,928 cancers were identified within the group.

More here.

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