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. 2013 Sep;24(9):1695-703.
doi: 10.1007/s10552-013-0245-6. Epub 2013 Jun 7.

Obesity in relation to lung cancer incidence in African American women

Traci N Bethea  1 , Lynn Rosenberg, Marjory Charlot, George T O'Connor, Lucile L Adams-Campbell, Julie R Palmer
Affiliations

Obesity in relation to lung cancer incidence in African American women

Traci N Bethea et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: Although a number of studies have found an inverse association between body mass index (BMI) and risk of lung cancer, there is little information on this relation in African Americans, who experience a higher incidence of lung cancer.

Methods: We assessed the relation of BMI to incidence of lung cancer in the Black Women's Health Study, an ongoing prospective follow-up of 59,000 women in the USA. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios for various levels of BMI relative to BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 ("normal weight") with adjustment for age, education, pack-years of smoking, and other covariates. Two other anthropometric measures, waist circumference (WC) and waist/hip ratio (WHR), were also assessed. A total of 323 primary lung cancer cases were identified from 1995 to 2011.

Results: The hazard ratio (HR) for BMI ≥ 30 relative to BMI 18.5-24.9 was 0.69 (95% CI 0.51-0.92). As expected, cigarette smoking was strongly associated with increased risk of lung cancer. In analyses stratified by smoking status, the HR for BMI ≥ 30 relative to BMI 18.5-24.9 was 0.62 (0.38-1.00) among current smokers, 0.90 (0.56-1.42) among former smokers, and 0.83 (0.41-1.70) among never smokers (p for interaction = 0.28). Control for pack-years of smoking or age started smoking had little effect on the hazard ratios. WC and WHR were not materially associated with lung cancer risk.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that high BMI is associated with a lower risk of lung cancer in African American women, particularly among current smokers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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