Jolie Rouge
06-05-2003, 10:07 PM
...prostate cancer.
:eek:
A new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Boston, shows that men who are over 50 years old and taller than 5' 10" face a greater risk of getting prostate cancer than their shorter friends, report HealthScoutNews and Reuters.
The taller a man is, the greater his risk. Sill, the Harvard docs call the increased risk only moderate. "These findings are somewhat preliminary, but we did see a modest increase in risk. It raises the possibility that there is an association between height and cancer risk," epidemiologist J. Michael Gaziano, an author of the study, told Reuters.
Data was compiled from 22,071 men who participated in the Physicians Health study. Of these, 1,634 men had prostate cancer. The researchers asked them their age, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI).
For men in their 50s: Those 5' 10" to 5' 11" had a 21 percent greater risk of prostate cancer than those who were under 5' 10". Those who were taller than 5' 11" had a 32 percent greater risk.
For men who ages 60 to 84: Those 5' 10" to 5' 11" had a 22 percent greater risk of prostate cancer than those who were under 5' 10". Those who were taller than 5' 11" had a 24 percent greater risk.
Why would height have anything at all to do with risk for prostate cancer?
Gaziano told HealthScoutNews that there is no good answer to that question. "Height might just be a genetic marker for some other genetic reason you might be at risk," he speculates. If further study bears out a link between height and prostate cancer, Gaziano says it will help researchers and physicians better zero in on the men most likely to contract the disease. The study findings were presented to the American College of Preventive Medicine meeting in San Diego.
:eek:
A new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Boston, shows that men who are over 50 years old and taller than 5' 10" face a greater risk of getting prostate cancer than their shorter friends, report HealthScoutNews and Reuters.
The taller a man is, the greater his risk. Sill, the Harvard docs call the increased risk only moderate. "These findings are somewhat preliminary, but we did see a modest increase in risk. It raises the possibility that there is an association between height and cancer risk," epidemiologist J. Michael Gaziano, an author of the study, told Reuters.
Data was compiled from 22,071 men who participated in the Physicians Health study. Of these, 1,634 men had prostate cancer. The researchers asked them their age, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI).
For men in their 50s: Those 5' 10" to 5' 11" had a 21 percent greater risk of prostate cancer than those who were under 5' 10". Those who were taller than 5' 11" had a 32 percent greater risk.
For men who ages 60 to 84: Those 5' 10" to 5' 11" had a 22 percent greater risk of prostate cancer than those who were under 5' 10". Those who were taller than 5' 11" had a 24 percent greater risk.
Why would height have anything at all to do with risk for prostate cancer?
Gaziano told HealthScoutNews that there is no good answer to that question. "Height might just be a genetic marker for some other genetic reason you might be at risk," he speculates. If further study bears out a link between height and prostate cancer, Gaziano says it will help researchers and physicians better zero in on the men most likely to contract the disease. The study findings were presented to the American College of Preventive Medicine meeting in San Diego.