Ovarian Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Ovarian Cancer, including details on symptoms, causes, treatment, information.

Body weight and body mass index and ovarian cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

Zhang M, Xie X, Holman CD

School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. minzhang@sph.uwa.edu.au

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between ovarian cancer risk and body height, weight, and BMI. METHODS: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in China from 1999 to 2000. The study sample included 254 cases with histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer and 652 controls. Information of adult height and weight at diagnosis, at 5 years before diagnosis and at age 21 years, was collected by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained using unconditional logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The ovarian cancer risk was significantly increased with higher body weight and BMI at 5 years before diagnosis, but not at diagnosis nor at age 21 years. The adjusted ORs were 1.67 (95% CI = 1.04-2.67) for body weight >60 kg versus < or =50 kg and 1.75 (95% CI = 1.13-2.72) for BMI > or = 25.0 versus 18.5-21.9 at 5 years before diagnosis. There was no association between body height and ovarian cancer risk. CONCLUSION: Pre-morbid body weight and BMI were associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer in Chinese women.

Published 25 July 2005 in Gynecol Oncol, 98(2): 228-34.
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