Work

Obesity, Fat Distribution and Risk of Cancer in Women and Men: A Mendelian Randomisation Study

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Obesity and upper-body fat distribution are independent, cardiometabolic risk factors but whether they also display comparable associations with cancer risk is unknown. We investigated the causal relationships between body mass index (BMI) and BMI-adjusted waist-to-hip ratio (WHRadjBMI) and cancer risk and searched for potential drivers linking these traits to carcinogenesis using two-sample and multivariable Mendelian randomisation. In women, genetically instrumented higher BMI was associated with lower breast (OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.81-0.93) and higher endometrial (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.55-1.96) cancer risk whilst WHRadjBMI was associated with higher colon cancer risk (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.07-1.42). In men, elevated BMI was associated with lower prostate cancer risk (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.98). Mechanistically, testosterone and insulin mediated 21% and 35%, respectively of the total, genetically determined association of BMI with endometrial cancer risk whilst HDL cholesterol and IGF-1 mediated 40% and 22%, respectively of the association between BMI and breast cancer risk. In men, testosterone mediated 21% of the association between BMI and prostate cancer risk. Colon cancer aside, the total amount of body fat might be more important than its location in modulating cancer susceptibility due to differential effects of obesity and fat distribution on adiposity-associated cancer drivers.

Source: Nutrients

DOI: 10.3390/nu14245259

Authors: Nellie Y. Loh, Wenyi Wang, Raymond Noordam, Constantinos Christodoulides

Institutions: University of Oxford, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Leiden University Medical Center, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre

Language: English

Topic: Cancer Risks and Factors

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,722