Body mass index and cancer risk among adults with and without cardiometabolic diseases: evidence from the EPIC and UK Biobank prospective cohort studies

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  • Emma Fontvieille
  • Vivian Viallon
  • Martina Recalde
  • Reynalda Cordova
  • Anna Jansana
  • Laia Peruchet-Noray
  • Hannah Lennon
  • Alicia K. Heath
  • Dagfinn Aune
  • Sofia Christakoudi
  • Verena Katzke
  • Rudolf Kaaks
  • Elif Inan-Eroglu
  • Matthias B. Schulze
  • Lene Mellemkjær
  • Kim Overvad
  • Marta Farràs
  • Dafina Petrova
  • Pilar Amiano
  • María Dolores Chirlaque
  • Conchi Moreno-Iribas
  • Sandar Tin Tin
  • Giovanna Masala
  • Sabina Sieri
  • Fulvio Ricceri
  • Salvatore Panico
  • Anne M. May
  • Evelyn M. Monninkhof
  • Elisabete Weiderpass
  • Marc J. Gunter
  • Pietro Ferrari
  • Heinz Freisling

Background: Whether cancer risk associated with a higher body mass index (BMI), a surrogate measure of adiposity, differs among adults with and without cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D) is unclear. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate separate and joint associations of BMI and CVD/T2D with the risk of cancer. Methods: This is an individual participant data meta-analysis of two prospective cohort studies, the UK Biobank (UKB) and the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), with a total of 577,343 adults, free of cancer, T2D, and CVD at recruitment. We used Cox proportional hazard regressions to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between BMI and incidence of obesity-related cancer and in turn overall cancer with a multiplicative interaction between BMI and the two cardiometabolic diseases (CMD). HRs and 95% CIs for separate and joint associations for categories of overweight/obesity and CMD status were estimated, and additive interaction was quantified through relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). Results: In the meta-analysis of both cohorts, BMI (per ~ 5 kg/m2) was positively associated with the risk of obesity-related cancer among participants without a CMD (HR: 1.11, 95%CI: 1.07,1.16), among participants with T2D (HR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.05,1.18), among participants with CVD (HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.11,1.24), and suggestively positive among those with both T2D and CVD (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.94,1.25). An additive interaction between obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and CVD with the risk of overall cancer translated into a meta-analytical RERI of 0.28 (95% CI: 0.09–0.47). Conclusions: Irrespective of CMD status, higher BMI increased the risk of obesity-related cancer among European adults. The additive interaction between obesity and CVD suggests that obesity prevention would translate into a greater cancer risk reduction among population groups with CVD than among the general population.

Original languageEnglish
Article number418
JournalBMC Medicine
Volume21
Issue number1
Number of pages15
ISSN1741-7015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

    Research areas

  • Cardiovascular diseases, Comorbidities, Multimorbidity, Obesity, Obesity-related cancers, Type 2 diabetes

ID: 375792405