Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are now the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and six are convincingly associated with obesity. We interrogate the association of a state's obesity prevalence with cancer incidence.
We use data from US Cancer Statistics for each of the 6 cancers of interest from 2011 to 2018. Age-adjusted incidences were calculated, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System was used to identify prevalence of obesity in each state. A generalized estimating equation model was used to relate the rate of cancer with the rate of obesity.
Increased state-level prevalence of obesity was significantly associated with increasing state-level incidence of pancreatic and hepatocellular cancers. The rate of colorectal cancer was not associated with increasing obesity in 2011-2014 but from 2015 to 2018 was inversely associated with increasing rates of obesity. State-level prevalence of obesity was not associated with esophageal, gastric, or gallbladder cancers.
Weight management interventions may reduce risk of pancreatic and hepatocellular cancers.
