Being tall increases cancer risk, study shows — National News

The research looked at people born between 1938 and 1992, using health, birth, and military records of around 5.5 million people. Cancer refers to the out-of-control growth of cells, which can potentially cause tumors and other complications.

Generally, the media reported the story accurately.

Cancer can be caused by many factors.

More research is needed to confirm the link. “Height may be a reflection of early age exposures”.

However, being tall is linked to a higher risk of cancer, a new study says.

It seems that being too tall for women is quite a risk.

So how might height and cancer risk be related? In their opinion, higher cancer risks may also be attributed to growth hormones or vitamins, as well as the geographical regions in which the respective respondents were raised.

Benyi stressed that these findings do not mean that every tall man or women will develop cancer.

What did the research involve?

Another study conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine tracked incidence of certain cancers among American women. These numbers are very similar to those observed in Sweden. The research reviewed people between 3 feet and 5 inches to as tall as 7 feet. “It could also be that taller individuals have a higher energy intake which has previously been linked to cancer”, she says.

The team then calculated the risk of people getting cancer for every 10cm increase in height. She noted that the same correlation was found between height and colon cancer.

Height, on the other hand, is determined by genetics, growth hormone levels, and environmental factors such as diet and infections during childhood.

“Not smoking, cutting down on alcohol, eating healthily, being active, having a healthy weight and enjoying the sun safely can each help you stack the odds against the disease”.

What were the basic results?

Cancer arises from mutations in the cell, so it makes sense that more cells would increase the risk of developing cancer.

Every 5cm increase in height was associated with a 9% drop in suicide risk, even with other factors taken into account. As breast cancer is much rarer in men, their risk was not calculated.

How did the researchers interpret the results?

Dr Benyi said the study marks the largest performed to date looking at links between height and cancer in men and women. The tallest was 2.25 metres in adulthood. The reports was presented at a medical conference in Barcelona. It is not possible to fully assess the study’s methods, strengths and limitations from this, but a few potential limitations are apparent.

The study highlighted though that height was still not as great a risk as smoking or obesity.

For more on cancer and height, visit the Canadian Cancer Society.

These theories were largely speculative.

Cancer risk increases with height, suggest researchers from Karolinska Institutet and University of Stockholm in Sweden.