Short Communication

British Journal of Cancer (2008) 99, 527–531. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6604487 www.bjcancer.com
Published online 15 July 2008

Obesity and risk of pancreatic cancer among postmenopausal women: the Women's Health Initiative (United States)

J Luo1,2, K L Margolis3, H-O Adami2,4, A LaCroix5 and W Ye2 For the Women's Health Initiative Investigators

  1. 1Institute of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
  2. 2Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  3. 3HealthPartners Research Foundation, Minneapolis, MN, USA
  4. 4Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
  5. 5Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Correspondence: Dr J Luo, Institute of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. E-mail: luojuhua8@yahoo.com

Received 17 April 2008; Revised 2 June 2008; Accepted 9 June 2008; Published online 15 July 2008.

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Abstract

A total of 138 503 women in the Women's Health Initiative in the United States were followed (for an average of 7.7 years) through 12 September 2005 to examine obesity, especially central obesity in relation to pancreatic cancer (n=251). Women in the highest quintile of waist-to-hip ratio had 70% (95% confidence interval 10–160%) excess risk of pancreatic cancer compared with women in the lowest quintile.

Keywords:

pancreatic cancer, obesity, central obesity, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio