Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Purpose: Obesity is a growing public health problem and the second most
preventable cause of death in the US. Obesity has been linked as a risk factor for
several cancers. However, there are limited studies that have examined the roles
of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as change
in body composition from early adulthood to late adulthood on the risk of cancer.
The overall objective of this dissertation was to determine the association of
obesity and obesity-related markers with breast and colorectal cancer occurrence
and mortality.
Methods: Three datasets were used. The first study used 4,500 asymptomatic
adults who were surveyed during a colorectal cancer screening study. The
second study was based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES) 2005-2010. The dataset had 172 breast cancer survivors and
2,000 women without breast cancer. The last manuscript resulted from the
NHANES follow-up study (NHANES III). A total of 120 cancer deaths from breast
and colorectal deaths were identified from 10,103 women aged 18 years or older.
Results: Overall, obesity and obesity related markers were associated with
breast and colorectal cancer occurrence and mortality. BMI change and WC
change were positively associated with increased risk of advanced colorectal
neoplasia (AN). WC measures (both static and dynamic) were generally a better
predictor of AN compared to BMI. In the second study involving breast cancer survivors, neither MetS nor CRP were associated with having a breast cancer
diagnosis. Also, none of the individual components of MetS (WC, Triglycerides,
HDL, fasting blood glucose and blood pressure) were associated with a breast
cancer diagnosis. In the last study, MetS was associated with increased risk of
mortality from obesity-related cancers. In addition, all components of MetS,
except dyslipidemia, were associated with increased risk of mortality for the
obesity-related cancers.
Conclusion: Obesity expressed in terms of BMI and WC, or their change, MetS
and CRP are important factors in regard to the occurrence, survivorship and
mortality of breast and colorectal cancer. The results of this research underscore
the importance of maintaining a healthy weight.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/11004 |
| Date | 05 April 2016 |
| Creators | Gathirua-Mwangi, Wambui Grace |
| Contributors | Zollinger, Terrell W., Song, Yiqing, Champion, Victoria L., Monahan, Patrick O. |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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