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Elevated blood sugar associated with colorectal cancer in older women
Kabat GC. Br J Cancer. 2011;doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.512.
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Results of a study exploring a potential link between glucose levels and colorectal cancer showed that postmenopausal women in the highest third of baseline glucose levels were nearly twice as likely to develop colorectal cancer as women in the lowest third.
Serum insulin and homeostasis model assessment were not associated with risk.
In a cohort of 4,902 nondiabetic women aged 50 to 79 years participating in the Women’s Health Initiative, researchers observed 81 diagnoses of colorectal cancer and 4,821 healthy women during 11.9 years of follow-up. Patients were older, less physically active and more likely to be non-Hispanic white. Participants were stratified by glucose level into low (<89.5 mg/dL), intermediate (89.5 mg/dL to 99.5 mg/dL) and high (≥99.5 mg/dL) tertiles.
On age-adjusted analysis, baseline glucose was positively associated with risk. The HR was 1.74 for the highest vs. the lowest tertile (95% CI, 0.97-3.15). When researchers adjusted the HRs for insulin and glucose, the HR for highest vs. lowest tertile of insulin was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.47-1.65), and it was 1.72 (95% CI, 0.94-3.15) for glucose. The HR per 1 mg/dL of glucose was 1.031 (95% CI, 1.009-1.054).
Researchers found that the correlation of high glucose level with colorectal cancer was similar for women with a BMI of at least 27.76 (HR per mg/dL=1.029; 95% CI, 0.997-1.062) and those with a BMI of less than 27.76 (HR per mg/dL=1.031; 95% CI, 1.001-1.063).
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