Yay! But how come I got lymphoma? Here's the article from today's NY Times health seciton ,which is filled with good articles.
"Cancer Risk Increases with Height"
An analysis of 20,928 postmenopausal women showed that the taller a woman
is, the greater her risk for a number of cancers, including breast,
colon and skin cancer, among others. The finding,
published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, is not
expected to change screening recommendations and shouldn’t alarm those
with a tall stature. Instead, say scientists, the association between
height and cancer may help guide researchers to study hormones and
growth factors that influence height and may also play a role in cancer.
******
While the current study focused only on women, other research has also
found an association between height and cancer among men. One study
found that taller men were at slightly higher risk for aggressive
prostate cancer. In May, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
reported that height differences between men and women may help explain
why men have an overall greater risk of developing cancer in non-sex
specific organs like kidneys and lungs. That study, of 65,000 men and women, showed that sex differences in height may explain a third to a half of a man’s excess cancer risk compared to women.
******
The data for the latest analysis were collected from the Women’s
Health Initiative, the largest-ever study of postmenopausal women. The
researchers identified 20,928 women who had received a cancer diagnosis
during the 12-year study period. The data set included not only the
woman’s height but also her age, weight, education, smoking habits,
alcohol consumption and whether she used hormone therapy. This allowed
the scientists to control for other factors that could influence cancer
risk and more closely determine the strength of the association with
height.
They found that for every 4-inch change in height, there was a 13
percent increase in risk for developing any type of cancer. The cancers
most strongly associated with height were cancers of the kidney, rectum,
thyroid and blood. Risk for those cancers increased by 23 to 29 percent
for every 4-inch increase in height.
Leave a Reply