Weight Gain During Adulthood and Body Weight at Age 20 Are Associated With the Risk of Endometrial Cancer in Japanese Women

Satoyo Hosono,Kazuo Tajima,Hidemi Ito,Takeshi Suzuki,Toru Nakanishi,Takakazu Kawase,Kaoru Hirose,Hideo Tanaka,Miki Watanabe,Keitaro Matsuo

doi:10.2188/jea.je20110020

Satoyo Hosono, Kazuo Tajima + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.je20110020

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Abstract

BackgroundCurrent obesity is an established risk factor for endometrial cancer; however, the roles of weight gain during adulthood and obesity in early adulthood on endometrial cancer have not been elucidated. Here, we conducted a case-control study comprising 222 histologically diagnosed incident endometrial cancer cases and 2162 age- and menstrual-status matched non-cancer controls.MethodsInformation on current body weight, weight and height at age 20 years, and lifestyle/environmental factors was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. Subjects were classified into 3 groups according to change in body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) from age 20 years to enrollment (≤0 [reference], 0–3, and >3 kg/m2). The effects of adult BMI change and obesity in early adulthood were evaluated using an unconditional logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders.ResultsA high BMI at age 20 (BMI ≥25, BMI <25 as reference) was significantly positively associated with endometrial cancer risk (P = 0.005), as was a BMI increase during adulthood (0–3 BMI change, multivariate odds ratio [OR] = 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.88–1.87; >3 BMI change, OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.38–2.96; P-trend < 0.001). Parity and BMI at age 20 appeared to modify the effect of weight gain on cancer risk, albeit without statistical significance. This positive association of weight gain with risk was observed only for endometrioid adenocarcinoma.ConclusionsThe results show that endometrial cancer is positively associated with obesity at age 20 and weight gain during adulthood among Japanese women.

Highlights

Endometrial cancer is an increasingly common gynecologic cancer in Japanese women; the age-standardized incidence rate increased from 1.4 to 7.3 between 1975 and 2005.1 Interestingly, a marked difference in age-specific incidence has been observed among women older than 50 years.[1]
Obesity is an important established risk factor for endometrial cancer,[2,3] with many studies showing that current obesity is associated with increased risk for endometrial cancer due to the effect of adiposity on the synthesis and bioavailability of endogenous sex steroid hormones, mainly estrogens.[4,5,6,7,8]
We conducted a hospital-based, case-control study to examine the association of endometrial cancer risk with BMI at age 20 and weight gain from age 20 years

Summary

Introduction

Endometrial cancer is an increasingly common gynecologic cancer in Japanese women; the age-standardized incidence rate increased from 1.4 to 7.3 between 1975 and 2005.1 Interestingly, a marked difference in age-specific incidence has been observed among women older than 50 years.[1]. We conducted a hospital-based, case-control study to examine the association of endometrial cancer risk with BMI at age 20 and weight gain from age 20 years. Current obesity is an established risk factor for endometrial cancer; the roles of weight gain during adulthood and obesity in early adulthood on endometrial cancer have not been elucidated. Parity and BMI at age 20 appeared to modify the effect of weight gain on cancer risk, albeit without statistical significance. This positive association of weight gain with risk was observed only for endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Conclusions: The results show that endometrial cancer is positively associated with obesity at age 20 and weight gain during adulthood among Japanese women

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Conclusion