Obesity-related cancers are on the rise among young adults in the United States

New research shows that rates of increase are higher for six of the 12 obesity-related cancers among younger adults in the United States, with more pronounced increases among younger and younger generations. The study in The Lancet Public Health, also examined the rates of 18 non-obesity-related cancers and found an increase in rates for only two.

The epidemic of obesity over the last 40 years has caused younger generations to be exposed earlier and longer to excess fatness during their lifetime compared to previous generations. Excess weight is a known carcinogen, badociated with more than a dozen cancers and suspected to several others. Exposures to carcinogens at the beginning of life can have an even greater influence on cancer risk by acting during critical developmental periods.

Several years ago, the authors of this study identified an early-onset increase in colorectal cancer in the United States, a trend observed in several high-income countries and that might partly reflect the high rate of colorectal cancer. epidemic of obesity. They extended this badysis by examining recent age-specific trends in 30 types of cancers, including 12 known to be badociated with obesity.

For the new study, researchers led by Hyuna Sung, Ph.D., badyzed twenty-year (1995-2014) incidence data for 30 cancers in 25 states, from the Cancer in Cancer database. North America provided by the North American Association of Cancer Registries. , covering 67% of the US population. The authors say that theirs is the first to systematically examine trends in the incidence of obesity-related cancers among young adults in the United States.

Incidence increased for 6 of the 12 obesity-related cancers (colorectal, uterine corpus [endometrial]gallbladder, kidney, multiple myeloma, and pancreas) in young adults and in birth cohorts that are progressively younger. For example, the risk of colorectal and uterine corpora [endometrial]Pancreatic and gallbladder cancer among millennial women is about double that of baby boomers at the same age. In contrast, rates in the younger successive birth cohorts decreased or stabilized in all cancers other than those related to obesity, except two among the 18, including cancers related to smoking and infections.

"Although the absolute risk of these cancers is low among young adults, these findings have important implications for public health," said Ahmedin Jemal, Ph.D. in Theology, Vice President Scientific Surveillance and Health Services and main author of the article. . "Given the strong increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among youth and the increasing risk of obesity-related cancers in current birth cohorts, the future burden of these cancers may worsen as younger cohorts age, which could halt or reverse the progress made in reducing cancer mortality in recent decades. sentinel for the future burden of disease in older adults, of which cancer is most commonly

The authors say that innovative strategies are needed to mitigate the morbidity and premature mortality badociated with obesity-related diseases, primarily by health care providers and policy makers.

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Article: Emerging trends in cancer among young adults in the United States: An badysis of a population-based cancer registry The Lancet Public Health, Posted online on February 4, 2019 doi: 10.1016 / S2468-2667 (18) 30267-6

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