Premium
Overweight and obesity and incidence of leukemia: A meta‐analysis of cohort studies
Author(s) -
Larsson Susanna C.,
Wolk Alicja
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.23176
Subject(s) - medicine , overweight , leukemia , body mass index , relative risk , obesity , chronic lymphocytic leukemia , incidence (geometry) , cohort study , cohort , myeloid leukemia , meta analysis , confidence interval , physics , optics
We conducted a meta‐analysis to summarize the available evidence from cohort studies on the association between excess body weight and incidence of leukemia. Studies were identified by searching the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (1966–July 2007) and by examining the references of retrieved articles. A random‐effects model was used to combine the results from individual studies. We identified 9 cohort studies with data on body mass index (BMI) or obesity in relation to incidence of leukemia. Compared with nonoverweight individuals (BMI < 25 kg/m 2 ), the summary relative risks (RRs) of leukemia were 1.14 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03–1.25] for overweight individuals (BMI 25–30 kg/m 2 ) and 1.39 (95% CI, 1.25–1.54) for obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ) individuals. On a continuous scale, a 5 kg/m 2 increase in BMI was associated with a 13% increased risk of leukemia (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07–1.19). In a meta‐analysis of 4 studies reporting results on subtypes of leukemia, the summary RRs associated with obesity were 1.25 (95% CI, 1.11–1.41) for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, 1.65 (95% CI, 1.16–2.35) for acute lymphocytic leukemia, 1.52 (95% CI, 1.19–1.95) for acute myeloid leukemia and 1.26 (95% CI, 1.09–1.46) for chronic myeloid leukemia. This meta‐analysis indicates that excess body weight is associated with an increased risk of developing leukemia. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.