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Epidemiology

Body size and risk of multiple myeloma in the Black Women’s Health Study

British Journal of Cancer volume 130, pages 830–835 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Obesity is an established risk factor for multiple myeloma (MM). Relatively few prior studies, however, have evaluated associations in Black populations.

Methods

Among 55,276 participants in the Black Women’s Health Study, a prospective U.S. cohort established in 1995, we confirmed 292 incident diagnoses of MM over 26 years of follow-up. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for age and putative MM risk factors, were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations of usual body mass index (BMI), BMI at age 18, height, and waist-to-hip ratio with MM.

Results

Compared to women with a usual adult BMI < 25 kg/m2, the HR associated with a usual adult BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 was 1.38 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.98). For early adult BMI, the HR comparing women with BMI ≥ 25 vs. <25 kg/m2 was 1.57 (95% CI: 1.08, 2.28). Women who were heavy in both early and later life had the highest risk compared to those who were lean at both time points (HR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.52). Height was also associated with the risk of MM; the HR per 10 cm was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.43).

Conclusions

These results indicate that high early adult BMI is associated with a 57% increased risk of MM in Black women and potentially highlight the importance of weight control as a preventive measure.

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Data availability

The data underlying this article cannot be shared publicly to protect the confidentiality of individuals who participated in the study. The data will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution to this study from central cancer registries supported through the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Programme of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and/or the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Programme. Central registries may also be supported by state agencies, universities, and cancer centres. Participating central cancer registries include the following: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MO, MS, NE, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, or the state cancer registries. We thank the participants and staff of the BWHS for their contributions.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (CA058420 and CA164974). Julie R. Palmer received support from the Karin Grunebaum Cancer Research Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Yachana Kataria

  2. Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Bala Niharika Pillalamarri, Gary Zirpoli, Julie R. Palmer & Kimberly A. Bertrand

  3. Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Raphael Szalat, Julie R. Palmer & Kimberly A. Bertrand

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  1. Yachana Kataria
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Contributions

YK, JRP, and KAB contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection was performed by JRP and KAB. Statistical analyses were performed by BNP and KAB. The first draft of the manuscript was written by YK and KAB; all authors provided critical feedback on the draft and read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kimberly A. Bertrand.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The BWHS study protocol was approved by the Boston University Medical Campus Institutional Review Board (IRB) and by the IRBs of participating cancer registries as required. Informed consent was implied by the return of the baseline questionnaire.

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Kataria, Y., Niharika Pillalamarri, B., Zirpoli, G. et al. Body size and risk of multiple myeloma in the Black Women’s Health Study. Br J Cancer 130, 830–835 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-023-02571-w

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