Body height and risk of cancer: The Tromsø Study

Abstract

Background: The association between several anthropometric measures and malignancy is established, both for total cancer risk and for several individual cancers. However, no previous study have investigated the association between measured body height and cancer risk in North-Norway. Further, the combined effect of body height and body mass index (BMI) on cancer risk is scarcely investigated. Aim: We aimed to i) investigate the association between measured body height and cancer in the Tromsø municipality, and ii) investigate whether there was a biological interaction between body height and BMI on cancer risk. Methods: Subjects (n=30 586) were recruited from the fourth, fifth and sixth surveys of the Tromsø study (end of follow-up 31 December 2012). Subjects not consenting to medical research (n=181), not officially registered as Tromsø-residents at study enrollment (n=23), with a history of cancer (n=858) or missing values on body height (n=38) were excluded. We further excluded men with a height <161cm (n=141) and women <150cm (n=295). Body height was categorized into quartiles (Q1-Q4) and also used as a continuous variable per 10 cm increase. BMI was divided according to definitions of normal weight, overweight and obesity. Cox regression was used to determine hazard ratios (HRs) for cancer by body height and BMI. We further calculated the interactions between body height and BMI on cancer risk. Results: During a median follow-up of 17.6 years, 3145 cancers occurred. The HR was 1.23 (95% CI 1.06-1.43) for cancer in tall men (Q4), when compared to men in Q1. The HR for cancer were 1.34 (95% CI 1.15-1.56) for women in Q4 compared to Q1. The risk of cancer increased per 10 cm increase in height. No biological interaction was found between body height and BMI on cancer risk. Conclusion: Subjects of tall stature have an increased risk of cancer.