Don't grow too tall? The taller you are, the higher your risk of cancer

Tall people may be more likely than shorter people to develop colorectal cancer or colon polyps, which can later turn into malignant tumors, a recent study suggests.

Statistics of 280,660 cases of colorectal cancer and 14,139 cases of colorectal adenoma found that the risk of colorectal cancer increased by 14% and the risk of adenoma increased by 6% for every 10 cm increase in height.

A study compared 17 common types of cancer in women, among which the incidence of 15 common cancers increased with increasing height. Among them, the risks with the greatest increase included: breast cancer (increased by 17%), colorectal cancer (increased by 25%), leukemia (increased by 26%), kidney cancer (increased by 29%), etc.

According to the data from the "Report on the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Status of Chinese Residents (2020)", the average height of Chinese men is 169.7cm and the average height of Chinese women is 158cm. This means that men with a height of 179.7cm and women with a height of 168cm or taller have a 14% increased risk of colorectal cancer and a 6% increased risk of adenoma.

Why does the risk of cancer increase with height?

Some researchers speculate that this may be because taller people have more growth-related hormones, which also promote cell division. Of course, the specific mechanism is still under investigation.

How tall are you? Are you anxious about your height?

doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0398