FRIDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Hyperglycemia, independent of obesity, approximately doubles the risk of cancers including malignant melanoma and cancer of the pancreas, endometrium and urinary tract, according to the results of a study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
Par Stattin, M.D., Ph.D., from Umea University Hospital in Sweden, and colleagues examined the risk of cancer based on fasting and postload glucose in 64,597 individuals in northern Sweden who were invited to take part in a health survey in the years they reached 40, 50 or 60 years of age since 1985.
The researchers identified 2,478 incident cases of cancer during the study period. In women only, high fasting and postload glucose levels significantly raised the risk of cancer (relative risks 1.75 and 1.63, respectively, for the top versus bottom quartile). High fasting glucose significantly increased the relative risks of malignant melanoma and cancer of the pancreas, endometrium and urinary tract (RR, 2.16, 2.49, 1.86 and 1.69, respectively) in men and women combined. The increased risks were independent of body mass index, according to the authors.
"The association of hyperglycemia with total cancer risk in women and in women and men combined for several cancer sites, independently of obesity, provides further evidence for an association between abnormal glucose metabolism and cancer," Stattin and colleagues conclude.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
