P09.06 Risk factors associated with Meningioma in a Cohort of 2 Million Israeli Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract Background: Meningiomas are the most common primary central nervous system tumors. Risk factors including- obesity, height, history of allergy/atopy or autoimmune diseases, have been assessed with conflicting results. In this study, we reviewed the database of a large cohort of Israeli adolescents in order to assess potential risk factors for the development of meningiomas. Methods: This study analyzed a cohort of 2,035,915 Jewish men and women who underwent compulsory physical examination as part of screening for army drafting between the age of 16 to 19 from 1948 to 1991. Meningioma incidence was identified by linkage to the national cancer registry. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratios for meningioma according the several risk factors including sex, BMI, height, history of allergic and autoimmune disease. Results: Linkage of the adolescent military database with the Israeli cancer registry revealed 480 cases of meningioma. The median age at diagnosis of meningioma was 42.1 ± 9.4 (range 17.4–62.6). On univariate analysis, only gender (female) and height were significantly associated with the risk of meningioma for the whole study population (p<0.01 for both variables). When analyzed separately for gender- height was significant only for men. Spline analysis in the men group showed the minimum risk at a height of 1.62 meters and a statistically significant increase in the risk for meningioma at heights taller than 1.85 meters. BMI was not associated with an elevated risk of meningioma even when analyzed separately for gender. Past medical history including asthma, diabetes, and other atopic and autoimmune diseases were not found to be associated with the risk of meningioma. Conclusion: In this large population study, we found that sex and taller height in adolescent males was associated with an increased risk of meningioma.