A Prospective Study of Physical Activity and the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer Among Women (United States)

Overview

Journal BMC Cancer

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Oncology

Date 2008 Mar 1

PMID 18307811

Citations 16

Authors

Brook A Calton

Rachael Z Stolzenberg-Solomon

Steven C Moore

Arthur Schatzkin

Catherine Schairer

Demetrius Albanes

Michael F Leitzmann

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Several epidemiologic studies have examined the association between physical activity and pancreatic cancer risk; however, the results of these studies are not consistent.

Methods: This study examined the associations of total, moderate, and vigorous physical activity to pancreatic cancer in a cohort of 33,530 U.S. women enrolled in the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project (BCDDP). At baseline (1987-1989), information on physical activity over the past year was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals of pancreatic cancer risk.

Results: 70 incident cases of pancreatic cancer were ascertained during 284,639 person years of follow-up between 1987-1989 and 1995-1998. After adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking status, history of diabetes, and height, increased physical activity was related to a suggestively decreased risk of pancreatic cancer. The RRs for increasing quartiles of total physical activity were 1.0, 0.80, 0.66, 0.52 (95% CI = 0.26, 1.05; ptrend = 0.05). This association was consistent across subgroups defined by body mass index and smoking status. We also observed statistically non-significant reductions in pancreatic cancer risk for women in the highest quartile of moderate (RR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.26, 1.26) and highest quartile of vigorous physical activity (RR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.31, 1.28) compared to their least active counterparts.

Conclusion: Our study provides evidence for a role of physical activity in protecting against pancreatic cancer.

Citing Articles

Physical Activity and Incident Pancreatic Cancer: Results From the UK Biobank Prospective Cohort.

Assarian B, Byrne C, McDonnell D, Hamady Z Cureus. 2025; 17(1):e78040.

PMID: 39872920 PMC: 11770282. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.78040.

Association Between Physical Activity and Pancreatic Cancer Risk and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Bos M, Oor J, Goense L, Meyer N, Bockhorn M, Hoogwater F Cancers (Basel). 2024; 16(21).

PMID: 39518035 PMC: 11544951. DOI: 10.3390/cancers16213594.

Association between physical activity and digestive-system cancer: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Xie F, You Y, Huang J, Guan C, Chen Z, Fang M J Sport Health Sci. 2020; 10(1):4-13.

PMID: 33010525 PMC: 7856558. DOI: 10.1016/j.jshs.2020.09.009.

Association between alcohol intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Wang Y, Gou Y, Jin W, Xiao M, Fang H BMC Cancer. 2016; 16:212.

PMID: 26968702 PMC: 4788838. DOI: 10.1186/s12885-016-2241-1.

Investigating Physical Activity in the Etiology of Pancreatic Cancer: The Age at Which This Is Measured Is Important and Is Independent of Body Mass Index.

Noor N, Banim P, Luben R, Khaw K, Hart A Pancreas. 2015; 45(3):388-93.

PMID: 26390426 PMC: 4743065. DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000000494.

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