Suhas Krishnamoorthy, Jonathan K L Mak, Kathryn C B Tan, Gloria H Y Li, Ching-Lung Cheung
{"title":"Adult head circumference and the risk of cancer: a retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Suhas Krishnamoorthy, Jonathan K L Mak, Kathryn C B Tan, Gloria H Y Li, Ching-Lung Cheung","doi":"10.1007/s10552-025-01966-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Cancer-related genes and pathways have recently been implicated in a genome-wide meta-analysis of head size. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the association between adult head circumference and the risk of cancer.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a cohort study using data from the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study, where 1,301 participants aged 27-96 years with head circumference measured between 2015 and 2019, and without a history of cancer, were followed up to 15 January 2024. Incident cancers were identified using electronic medical records from a territory-wide database. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for age, sex, height, weight, education, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, and family history of cancer, as well as accounting for familial clustering.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median head circumference was 53 cm (interquartile range [IQR]: 51-54) and 54 cm (IQR: 53-55) for women and men, respectively. During a median follow-up of 6.9 years, 66 individuals were diagnosed with cancer. In the adjusted model, a larger head circumference was associated with an increased risk of any cancer (HR per cm increase: 1.17; 95% CI 1.00-1.36). Results remained similar when adjusting for waist-to-hip ratio instead of weight or when additionally adjusting for serum calcium and phosphorus levels. When stratified by cancer sites, head circumference was most strongly associated with colorectal cancer (HR per cm increase: 1.81; 95% CI 1.14-2.90) and prostate cancer (HR per cm increase: 1.58; 95% CI 1.16-2.16).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Head circumference is positively associated with the risk of cancer independently of height, weight, and other cancer risk factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":9432,"journal":{"name":"Cancer Causes & Control","volume":" ","pages":"683-689"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12103361/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cancer Causes & Control","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-025-01966-9","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/2/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: Cancer-related genes and pathways have recently been implicated in a genome-wide meta-analysis of head size. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the association between adult head circumference and the risk of cancer.
Methods: This is a cohort study using data from the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study, where 1,301 participants aged 27-96 years with head circumference measured between 2015 and 2019, and without a history of cancer, were followed up to 15 January 2024. Incident cancers were identified using electronic medical records from a territory-wide database. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for age, sex, height, weight, education, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, and family history of cancer, as well as accounting for familial clustering.
Results: The median head circumference was 53 cm (interquartile range [IQR]: 51-54) and 54 cm (IQR: 53-55) for women and men, respectively. During a median follow-up of 6.9 years, 66 individuals were diagnosed with cancer. In the adjusted model, a larger head circumference was associated with an increased risk of any cancer (HR per cm increase: 1.17; 95% CI 1.00-1.36). Results remained similar when adjusting for waist-to-hip ratio instead of weight or when additionally adjusting for serum calcium and phosphorus levels. When stratified by cancer sites, head circumference was most strongly associated with colorectal cancer (HR per cm increase: 1.81; 95% CI 1.14-2.90) and prostate cancer (HR per cm increase: 1.58; 95% CI 1.16-2.16).
Conclusion: Head circumference is positively associated with the risk of cancer independently of height, weight, and other cancer risk factors.
目的:癌症相关基因和途径最近涉及到头部大小的全基因组荟萃分析。在目前的研究中,我们旨在评估成人头围与癌症风险之间的关系。方法:这是一项使用香港骨质疏松症研究数据的队列研究,其中1301名年龄在27-96岁之间的参与者,在2015年至2019年期间测量了头围,没有癌症病史,随访至2024年1月15日。使用来自全港数据库的电子医疗记录确定偶发性癌症。使用Cox比例风险回归估计风险比(HR)和95%置信区间(CI),调整年龄、性别、身高、体重、教育程度、吸烟、饮酒、体育活动和癌症家族史,并考虑家族聚类。结果:女性和男性的头围中位数分别为53 cm(四分位间距[IQR]: 51-54)和54 cm (IQR: 53-55)。在平均6.9年的随访期间,66人被诊断出患有癌症。在调整后的模型中,较大的头围与任何癌症的风险增加相关(每厘米增加的风险比:1.17;95% ci 1.00-1.36)。当调整腰臀比而不是体重或额外调整血清钙和磷水平时,结果仍然相似。当按癌症部位分层时,头围与结直肠癌的相关性最强(HR / cm增加:1.81;95% CI 1.14-2.90)和前列腺癌(HR每厘米增加1.58;95% ci 1.16-2.16)。结论:头围与癌症风险呈正相关,独立于身高、体重和其他癌症危险因素。
期刊介绍:
Cancer Causes & Control is an international refereed journal that both reports and stimulates new avenues of investigation into the causes, control, and subsequent prevention of cancer. By drawing together related information published currently in a diverse range of biological and medical journals, it has a multidisciplinary and multinational approach.
The scope of the journal includes: variation in cancer distribution within and between populations; factors associated with cancer risk; preventive and therapeutic interventions on a population scale; economic, demographic, and health-policy implications of cancer; and related methodological issues.
The emphasis is on speed of publication. The journal will normally publish within 30 to 60 days of acceptance of manuscripts.
Cancer Causes & Control publishes Original Articles, Reviews, Commentaries, Opinions, Short Communications and Letters to the Editor which will have direct relevance to researchers and practitioners working in epidemiology, medical statistics, cancer biology, health education, medical economics and related fields. The journal also contains significant information for government agencies concerned with cancer research, control and policy.