Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37199248›Full record

Observational studyPublic health nutrition2023

Body size over the adult life course and the risk of colorectal cancer among postmenopausal women.

Le Su, Michael Hendryx, Ming Li, Aladdin H Shadyab, Nazmus Saquib, Marcia L Stefanick, Juhua Luo

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Public health nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Life Course Trajectories of Body Mass Index and Risk of Cancer in Adulthood: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Le SuDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Indiana University - Bloomington, Bloomington, IN47408, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2810-1703
Michael HendryxDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
Ming LiDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Indiana University - Bloomington, Bloomington, IN47408, USA.
Aladdin H ShadyabDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
Nazmus SaquibCollege of Medicine at Sulaiman Al-Rajhi University, Al Bukayriyah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Marcia L StefanickStanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Juhua LuoDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Indiana University - Bloomington, Bloomington, IN47408, USA.
Indiana University Bloomington · USStanford University · USSulaiman Al Rajhi Colleges · SAUniversity of California San Diego · US

Funding

NHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201600001CNHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201600002CNHLBI NIH HHS HHSN268201600004C
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo assess the associations among several anthropometric measures, as well as BMI trajectories and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in older women.

designProspective cohort study.

settingForty clinical centres in the USA.

participantsTotally, 79 034 postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.

resultsDuring an average of 15·8 years of follow-up, 1514 CRC cases were ascertained. Five BMI trajectories over 18-50 years of age were identified using growth mixture model. Compared with women who had a normal BMI at age 18, women with obesity at age 18 had a higher risk of CRC (HR 1·58, 95 % CI 1·02, 2·44). Compared with women who kept relatively low normal body size during adulthood, women who progressed from normal to obesity (HR 1·29, 95 % CI 1·09, 1·53) and women who progressed from overweight to obesity (HR 1·37, 95 % CI 1·13, 1·68) had higher CRC risks. A weight gain > 15 kg from age 18 to 50 (HR 1·20, 95 % CI 1·04, 1·40) and baseline waist circumference > 88 cm (HR 1·33, 95 % CI 1·19, 1·49) were associated with higher CRC risks, compared with stable weight and waist circumference ≤ 88 cm, respectively.

conclusionWomen who have a normal weight in early adult life and gain substantial weight later, as well as those who are persistently heavy over adulthood, demonstrated a higher risk of developing CRC. Our study highlights the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight over the life course for reducing the risk of developing CRC in women.

Indexed as

Colorectal NeoplasmsLife Change EventsAdolescentAdultAgedBody Mass IndexBody SizeFemaleHumansMiddle AgedObesityPostmenopauseProspective StudiesRisk FactorsYoung AdultBMIBody sizeColorectal cancerObesity

Identifiers

PMID37199248
PMCPMC10410385
OpenAlexW4377011654

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.