Weight change and cancer risk in a cohort of more than 65,000 adults in Austria.
BACKGROUND
To investigate relations between weight loss or weight gain and the incidence of cancer.


METHODS
Weight change was assessed in a population-based cohort of >65 000 Austrian adults (28 711 men and 36 938 women) for a period of 7 years, after which participants were followed for incident cancers over 8 years on average. Incident cancers (other than nonmelanoma skin cancers) were ascertained by a population-based cancer registry (n = 3128). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard rate ratios (HRs) stratified by age and adjusted for smoking, occupational group, blood glucose and body mass index at baseline.


RESULTS
In both men and women, neither weight loss nor weight gain was clearly associated with the incidence of all cancers combined. Weight loss (>0.10 kg/m(2)/year) was inversely associated with colon cancer in men [HR 0.50; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.29-0.87], while high weight gain (> or =0.50 kg/m(2)/year) was inversely associated with prostate cancer (HR 0.43; 95% CI 0.24-0.76). Among women, high weight gain was positively associated with ovarian cancer (HR 2.48; 95% CI 1.05-5.85).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that recent weight change may influence the incidence of several types of cancer.
Rapp
K
K
Institute of Epidemiology, University of Ulm, Helmholtzstrasse, Germany. kilian.rapp@uni-ulm.de
Klenk
J
J
Ulmer
H
H
Concin
H
H
Diem
G
G
Oberaigner
W
W
Schroeder
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D015430:Weight Gain; D015431:Weight Loss