ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2025
Comparing waist circumference with body mass index on obesity-related cancer risk: a pooled Swedish study.
Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Adiposity and cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.Nature metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Anthropometric factors, physical activity, and the risk of soft tissue sarcoma: a case-control study.European journal of cancer prevention : the official journal of the European Cancer Prevention Organisation (ECP) · 2026Article
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion as scientific rigor: progress during challenging times.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2026Article
- Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer attributable to central obesity: a population attributable fraction analysis.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Physical performance outweighs grip strength in predicting diabetes risk: evidence from a prospective cohort study.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
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17 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundGeneral adiposity, assessed by body mass index (BMI), is a well-established cancer risk factor. This study compared waist circumference (WC), a measure of abdominal adiposity, with BMI as a risk factor for obesity-related cancers, and assessed whether WC provides additional information beyond BMI.
methodsWe analyzed data from 339 190 individuals in a pooled Swedish cohort with baseline BMI and WC assessments from 1981 to 2019 (61% objectively measured, mean age 51.4 years). Cancer diagnoses were obtained from the Swedish Cancer Register. Hazard ratios (HRs) for WC and BMI were calculated using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression. To account for WC's greater variability, we corrected HRs using regression dilution ratios. To assess WC's additional contribution beyond BMI, we analyzed WC residuals in multivariable, BMI-adjusted models.
resultsDuring a median follow-up of 13.9 years (interquartile range: 8.0-22.5), 18 185 IARC-established obesity-related cancers were recorded. In men, a 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in WC was associated with a 25% higher risk of obesity-related cancers (HR1-SD = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.21 to 1.30), compared to a 19% increase for BMI (HR1-SD = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.15 to 1.23, P = 0.014 for heterogeneity). Among women, associations were weaker and similar for both WC (HR1-SD = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.11 to 1.16) and BMI (HR1-SD = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.11 to 1.15, P = 0.357 for heterogeneity). Waist circumference residuals were more strongly associated with obesity-related cancer risk in men (HR1-SD = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.06 to 1.12) than in women (HR1-SD = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.05). Including an additional 6893 potential obesity-related cancers yielded similar patterns of associations. CONCLUSION(S): Waist circumference is a stronger risk factor than BMI for obesity-related cancer in men, conveying additional risk information, whereas this is less evident in women.
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