Birth size and colorectal cancer risk: a prospective population based study.
OBJECTIVE
To study whether birth size influences colorectal cancer risk in adulthood.


METHODS
A cohort of Norwegian men and women identified from midwives' birth records with long term cancer follow up through the Norwegian Cancer Registry.


METHODS
St Olav's University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.


METHODS
16,016 women and 19 681 men born between 1920 and 1958 and alive in 1960.


METHODS
Incidence rate ratios (RRs) for colorectal cancer with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and two sided p values for trend across categories of birth dimensions.


RESULTS
Men whose birth length was less than 51 cm had a nearly twofold higher risk of colorectal cancer (RR 1.9 (95% CI 1.0-3.7)) compared with men who were 53 cm or more, after adjustment for birth cohort, maternal age at childbearing, length of gestation, gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia, birth order, maternal height, and indicators of maternal socioeconomic status. The association displayed a linear trend across categories of birth length (p(trend) = 0.03). Among men, similar associations were found for birth weight and head circumference, but for women there was no association between any of these birth dimensions and risk of colorectal cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that among men, but not women, being relatively short at birth is associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer in adulthood, indicating that intrauterine growth could be important for colorectal carcinogenesis.
Nilsen
T I L
TI
Department of Public Health and General Practice, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7489 Trondheim, Norway.
Romundstad
P R
PR
Troisi
R
R
Potischman
N
N
Vatten
L J
LJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D049628:Body Size; D002508:Cephalometry; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000196:embryology* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors