Risk of pancreatic carcinoma in smokers enhanced by weight gain. Results from 10-year follow-up of the Malmö preventive Project Cohort Study.
CONCLUSIONS
The increased risk of pancreatic carcinoma in smokers is enhanced by weight gain. Possible explanations are proposed and discussed.


BACKGROUND
Between 1974 and 1992, 35,000 men and women below 55 yr of age participated in a general health examination at the Department of Preventive Medicine in Malmö, Sweden. Mortality and incidence of cancer have been updated by record linkage with the Cause of Death Register and the National Cancer Register.


METHODS
The present study deals with the incidence of pancreatic carcinoma during 365,500 person years of follow-up. The 43 cases corresponded to an incidence per 100,000 person years of 13.4 in men and 6.1 in women.


RESULTS
Nonsmokers, exsmokers, and smokers had an incidence of 1.5, 24.5, and 15.3/100,000 person years, respectively. The case-control approach used to assess risk factors for pancreatic carcinoma showed that the odds for smoking (odds ratio [O.R] 8.6; 95% confidence intervals [C.I.] 2.0-37.5), for weight gain more than 10 kg since the age of 30 (O.R. 1.8; 95% C.I. 0.9-3.6), and for epigastric pain (O.R. 3.2; 95% C.I. 1.4-7.2) were higher in cases than in controls. These odds ratios were all statistically significant in the logistic regression analysis.
Ogren
M
M
Department of Community Medicine, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden.
Hedberg
M
M
Berglund
G
G
Borgström
A
A
Janzon
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001835:Body Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015430:Weight Gain