Is it true that taller women face higher cancer risk? A research study in US has proven it to be true. Researchers looked at a testimonial of nearly 145,000 postmenopausal women age between 50 and 79 for the analysis published in the US journal Cancer Epidemiology.
“Ultimately, cancer is a result of processes having to do with growth, so it makes sense that hormones or other growth factors that influence height may also affect cancer risk,” said lead author Geoffrey Kabat, senior epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York.
Researchers found links between greater height and higher risk of developing cancers like thyroid, colon, breast, kidney, rectum, endometrium, myeloma and melanoma.
They found that each additional 10cm or height was linked to a 13 percent higher risk of getting cancer, and the height association still remained even the scientists adjusted for possible influence such as smoking, alcohol consumption, weight and education and hormone therapy.
Some cancers saw an even higher risk among taller women, such as a 23 to 29 percent increase in the risk of developing cancers of the thyroid, blood, kidney, and rectum for each 10 centimeters of height.
The study did not mention where cancer risk begins to rise from what height, but one thing to remember that the risk increased researchers found was small. (AFP) (Source)
Still a healthy lifestyle is the best way to fight against sickness and cancers.