Leg length and risk of cancer in the Boyd Orr cohort

BMJ 1998;317:1350-1351 ( 14 November )

Papers

Leg length and risk of cancer in the Boyd Orr cohort

Editorial by Albanes

D J Gunnell, senior lecturer in epidemiology and public health medicine, ^a G Davey Smith, professor of clinical epidemiology, ^a J M P Holly, professor of clinical sciences, ^b S Frankel, professor of epidemiology and public health medicine. ^a

^a Department of Social Medicine, Canynge Hall, Bristol BS8 2PR, ^b Division of Surgery, University of Bristol, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol BS2 8HW

Correspondence to Dr Gunnell d.j.gunnell@bristol.ac.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Height is directly associated with mortality from cancer,¹ but the explanation for this association is unclear. Whereasadult height is a marker of nutrition and health throughout childhood,most growth before puberty is due to increases in leg length.Leg length can therefore be used as a marker for exposures thatgenerate the association between adult height and cancer. ¹ ² We examined the association between prepubertal leg length andmortality from cancer in the Boyd Orr cohort. ² ³

Subjects, methods, and results

As childhood height is affected by the timing of puberty we restricted our analysis to study members who were aged 2-8 yearswhen their height and leg length were measured. In all, 1167 ofthese 1392 subjects (84%) were traced and had information on childhoodand adult socioeconomic status, and they form the basis of thisanalysis. Using Cox's proportional hazards models we examinedmortality from cancer between 1948 and 1997 in relation to internallyderived z scores for . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati

Twitter What's this?

Relevant Articles

Height and risk of cancer: Mark McCarthy, David J Gunnell, George Davey Smith, Jeff M P Holly, Stephen Frankel, Martin Shipley, and David A Leon
BMJ 1999 318: 1074. [Extract] [Full Text]

Childhood energy intake might explain the link between height and cancer risk
BMJ 1998 317: 0. [Full Text]

Height, early energy intake, and cancer: Demetrius Albanes
BMJ 1998 317: 1331-1332. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Batty, G. D., Barzi, F., Woodward, M., Jamrozik, K., Woo, J., Kim, H. C., Ueshima, H., Huxley, R. R., for the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration, (2010). Adult height and cancer mortality in Asia: the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration. Ann Oncol 21: 646-654 [Abstract] [Full text]
Hatton, T. J., Martin, R. M. (2010). The effects on stature of poverty, family size, and birth order: British children in the 1930s. OXF ECON PAP 62: 157-184 [Abstract] [Full text]
McEniry, M., Palloni, A., Davila, A. L., Gurucharri, A. G. (2008). Early Life Exposure to Poor Nutrition and Infectious Diseases and Its Effects on the Health of Older Puerto Rican Adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 63: S337-S348 [Abstract] [Full text]
Sandhu, J., Smith, G. D., Holly, J., Cole, T. J., Ben-Shlomo, Y. (2006). Timing of Puberty Determines Serum Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I in Late Adulthood. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 91: 3150-3157 [Abstract] [Full text]
Rogers, I., Metcalfe, C., Gunnell, D., Emmett, P., Dunger, D., Holly, J., and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Chi, (2006). Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I and Growth in Height, Leg Length, and Trunk Length between Ages 5 and 10 Years. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 91: 2514-2519 [Abstract] [Full text]
Bray, I., Gunnell, D., Holly, J. M. P., Middleton, N., Smith, G. D., Martin, R. M. (2006). Associations of Childhood and Adulthood Height and the Components of Height with Insulin-Like Growth Factor Levels in Adulthood: A 65-Year Follow-Up of the Boyd Orr Cohort. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 91: 1382-1389 [Abstract] [Full text]
Xu, W. H., Xiang, Y. B., Zheng, W., Zhang, X., Ruan, Z. X., Cheng, J. R., Gao, Y.-T., Shu, X.-O. (2006). Weight history and risk of endometrial cancer among Chinese women. Int J Epidemiol 35: 159-166 [Abstract] [Full text]
Martin, R. M, Gunnell, D., Pemberton, J., Frankel, S., Davey Smith, G. (2005). Cohort Profile: The Boyd Orr cohort--an historical cohort study based on the 65 year follow-up of the Carnegie Survey of Diet and Health (1937-39). Int J Epidemiol 34: 742-749 [Full text]
Li, L, Manor, O, Power, C (2004). Are inequalities in height narrowing? Comparing effects of social class on height in two generations. Arch. Dis. Child. 89: 1018-1023 [Abstract] [Full text]
Garrone, S., Radetti, G., Sidoti, M., Bozzola, M., Minuto, F., Barreca, A. (2002). Increased Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF)-II and IGF/IGF-Binding Protein Ratio in Prepubertal Constitutionally Tall Children. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 87: 5455-5460 [Abstract] [Full text]
Spitz, M. R., Barnett, M. J., Goodman, G. E., Thornquist, M. D., Wu, X., Pollak, M. (2002). Serum Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) and IGF-binding Protein Levels and Risk of Lung Cancer: A Case-Control Study Nested in the {beta}-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial Cohort. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 11: 1413-1418 [Abstract] [Full text]
Martin, R M, Smith, G D., Mangtani, P, Frankel, S, Gunnell, D (2002). Association between breast feeding and growth: the Boyd-Orr cohort study. Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 87: F193-201 [Abstract] [Full text]
Okasha, M, McCarron, P, McEwen, J, Smith, G D. (2002). Body mass index in young adulthood and cancer mortality: a retrospective cohort study. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 56: 780-784 [Abstract] [Full text]
Regidor, E., Gutierrez-Fisac, J. L, Calle, M E., Navarro, P., Dominguez, V. (2002). Infant mortality at time of birth and cause-specific adult mortality among residents of the region of Madrid born elsewhere in Spain. Int J Epidemiol 31: 368-374 [Abstract] [Full text]
Wadsworth, M., Hardy, R., Paul, A., Marshall, S., Cole, T. (2002). Leg and trunk length at 43 years in relation to childhood health, diet and family circumstances; evidence from the 1946 national birth cohort. Int J Epidemiol 31: 383-390 [Abstract] [Full text]
Gunnell, D. (2002). Commentary: Can adult anthropometry be used as a 'biomarker' for prenatal and childhood exposures?. Int J Epidemiol 31: 390-394 [Full text]
Davey Smith, G, Greenwood, R, Gunnell, D, Sweetnam, P, Yarnell, J, Elwood, P (2001). Leg length, insulin resistance, and coronary heart disease risk: The Caerphilly Study. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 55: 867-872 [Abstract] [Full text]
Giovannucci, E. (2001). Insulin, Insulin-Like Growth Factors and Colon Cancer: A Review of the Evidence. J. Nutr. 131: 3109S-3120 [Abstract] [Full text]
Gunnell, D. (2001). Commentary: Early insights into height, leg length, proportionate growth and health. Int J Epidemiol 30: 221-222 [Full text]
Gunnell, D, Berney, L, Holland, P, Maynard, M, Blane, D, Frankel, S, Smith, G D. (2000). How accurately are height, weight and leg length reported by the elderly, and how closely are they related to measurements recorded in childhood?. Int J Epidemiol 29: 456-464 [Abstract] [Full text]
Smith, G. D., Hart, C., Upton, M., Hole, D., Gillis, C., Watt, G., Hawthorne, V. (2000). Height and risk of death among men and women: aetiological implications of associations with cardiorespiratory disease and cancer mortality. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 54: 97-103 [Abstract] [Full text]
McCarthy, M., Gunnell, D. J, Smith, G. D., Holly, J. M P, Frankel, S., Shipley, M., Leon, D. A (1999). Height and risk of cancer. BMJ 318: 1074a-1074 [Full text]
Albanes, D. (1998). Height, early energy intake, and cancer. BMJ 317: 1331-1332 [Full text]