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A prospective study of body size and colon cancer mortality in Japan: The JACC Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether body size measurements are risk factors for colon cancer death among the Japanese.

DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: A nationwide prospective study, the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study from 1988 to 1999. The present analysis included 43?171 men and 58?775 women aged 40–79?y who respond to a questionnaire on current weight and height, weight around 20?y of age, and other lifestyle factors. Body mass index (BMI) at baseline and 20?y of age (B-BMI and 20-BMI, respectively) were calculated.

RESULTS: We identified 127 deaths from colon cancer during the follow-up of 424?698 person-years among men and 122 deaths during the follow-up of 591?787 person-years among women. After adjustments for the lifestyle factors known to modify the risk of colon cancer, weight at baseline showed a significant positive association in women, while no such association was seen in men. There was also a significant trend of increasing risk with the increase in B-BMI among women. Women with B-BMI ≥28?kg/m2 had a relative risk (RR) of 3.41 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.44–8.06) compared with those with BMI of 20–<22?kg/m2. 20-BMI also presented the same trend of increasing risk as B-BMI. Women with 20-BMI of <22 and B-BMI of >26?kg/m2, that is, excessive BMI gain, had a high RR of 3.41 (95% CI 1.29–9.02) compared with those with 20-BMI of <22 and B-BMI of <22?kg/m2. There were no corresponding trends of colon cancer risk for B-BMI, 20-BMI, or BMI change among men.

CONCLUSIONS: These study data suggest that obesity and excessive weight gain are associated with the risk of colon cancer death in Japanese women but no such relationship was found in Japanese men.

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Acknowledgements

We express their sincere appreciation to Dr K Aoki, Professor Emeritus, Nagoya University School of Medicine and the former chairman of the JACC Study Group, and also to Dr H Sugano, the former Director of the Cancer Institute of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, who greatly contributed to the initiation of the study.

The present members of the JACC Study and their affiliations are as follows: Dr A Tamakoshi (present chairman of the study group), Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr M Mori, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine; Dr Y Motohashi, Akita University School of Medicine; Dr I Tsuji, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr Y Nakamura, Jichi Medical School; Dr H Iso, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tsukuba; Dr H Mikami, Chiba Cancer Center; Dr Y Inaba, Juntendo University School of Medicine; Dr Y Hoshiyama, Showa University School of Medicine; Dr H Suzuki, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences; Dr H Shimizu, Gifu University School of Medicine; Dr H Toyoshima, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr S Tokudome, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences; Dr Y Ito, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences; Dr S Hashimoto, Fujita Health University School of Medicine; Dr S Kikuchi, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine; Dr A Koizumi, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University; Dr T Kawamura, Kyoto University Center for Student Health; Dr Y Watanabe and Dr T Miki, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Science; Dr C Date, Faculty of Human Environmental Sciences, Mukogawa Women's University; Dr K Sakata, Wakayama Medical University; Dr T Nose, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine; Dr N Hayakawa, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University; Dr T Yoshimura, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan; Dr K Fukuda, Kurume University School of Medicine; Dr N Okamoto, Kanagawa Cancer Center; Dr H Shio, Moriyama Municipal Hospital; Dr Y Ohno (former chairman of the study group), Asahi Rosai Hospital; Dr T Kitagawa, Cancer Institute of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research; Dr T Kuroki, Gifu University; and Dr K Tajima, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute.

The past investigators of the study group were listed in Ohno et al27 except for the following seven members (affiliations are those at the time they participated in the study): Dr T Shimamoto, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tsukuba; Dr H Tanaka, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University; Dr S Hisamichi, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr M Nakao, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine; Dr T Suzuki, Research Institute, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases; Dr T Hashimoto, Wakayama Medical University; and Dr T Ishibashi, Asama General Hospital.

This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas (2) (No. 14031222) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The JACC Study has also been supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the same ministry (Nos. 61010076, 62010074, 63010074, 1010068, 2151065, 3151064, 4151063, 5151069, 6279102, and 11181101).

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Tamakoshi, K., Wakai, K., Kojima, M. et al. A prospective study of body size and colon cancer mortality in Japan: The JACC Study. Int J Obes 28, 551–558 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802603

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