Obesity at a young age - a risk factor for early colorectal cancer
December 2021
German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
The incidence of colorectal cancers in young adults is increasing. At the same time, the proportion of overweight and obese young people is also on the rise. Whether there is a connection between these two observations, however, is still unknown. Here, the researchers drew on data from the ongoing DACHS case-control study, one of the world's largest trials of colorectal cancer. 747 cancer patients and 621 healthy controls under the age of 55 were asked about their weight at the ages of 20 and 30 and about 10 years before the cancer diagnosis or the survey, respectively. From the data, the researchers determined the risk of early colorectal cancer in overweight (BMI 25 to <30 kg/m2) and obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2, obesity) people compared with normal-weight (BMI <25 kg/m2) people. The team found that the risk of early colorectal cancer was about twice as high in obese people as in those of normal weight. If obesity was already present at age 20, their risk was even 2.6 times higher. Overweight people with a BMI of 25 to 30 kg/m2 also had an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer at an early age. These findings support the suggestion that the increase in overweight and obesity in the younger generation is one of the main reasons for the more frequent occurrence of early colorectal cancer.
Associations of body mass index at different ages with early-onset colorectal cancer
Hermann Brenner
Added on: 03-10-2022
[1] https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(21)04074-9/fulltext[2] https://www.bionity.com/en/news/1174289/obesity-at-a-young-age-a-risk-factor-for-early-colorectal-cancer.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bionityde&WT.mc_id=ca0264
