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Last Updated: 2001-08-21 16:00:49 EDT (Reuters Health)

WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) – In both men and women, obesity appears to significantly increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, while moderate physical activity seems to reduce the risk even among obese individuals, according to the results of a population-based study published in the August 22/29 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

"This finding is interesting because it make us think that there is a role for hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in pancreatic cancer," lead author Dr. Dominique S. Michaud told Reuters Health. "So modifying behaviors may be a way to reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer," she added.

Dr. Michaud from the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland and colleagues collected data from two large cohorts: 46,648 men, 40 to 75 years of age, who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and 117,041 women, 30 to 55 years of age, who participated in the Nurses' Health Study.

During 2,800,837 person-years of follow-up, 140 men and 210 women were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In subjects from both cohorts, body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer, the researchers report.

"After adjusting for known risk factors, men and women with a BMI of 30 or higher had a 72% increase in risk of pancreatic cancer compared with men and women with a BMI of less than 23," Dr. Michaud's group found. Multivariable analyses revealed that an increment of 1 kg/m² was associated with a 5% increased risk of pancreatic cancer among men and a 3% increased risk of pancreatic cancer among women.

Height too was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in both cohorts. A 2.54 cm increase in height increased the risk of pancreatic cancer by 6% in men and 10% in women, the researchers note.

There was also an inverse association between moderate physical activity and the risk of pancreatic cancer for individuals in both cohorts. Multivariable pooled analyses indicated that men and women in the highest quintile of moderate physical activity had a significantly reduced risk of pancreatic cancer compared with those in the lowest quintile of moderate physical activity (relative risk 0.45; p < 0.001 for trend).

Whether other lifestyle factors such as diet, the size and frequency of meals or exposure to insulin effect the risk of pancreatic cancer remains an open question, Dr. Susan M. Gapstur from Northwestern University Medical School and Dr. Peter Gann from The Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chicago comment in a journal editorial.

"While these issues require additional exploration, it is increasingly clear that pancreatic cancer…could be prevented through behavioral and lifestyle changes," Drs. Gapstur and Gann conclude.

JAMA 2001;286:921-929,967-968.

-Westport Newsroom 203 319 2700