Sex disparity in the association between metabolic-anthropometric phenotypes and risk of obesity-related cancer: a prospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Sex disparity between metabolic-obesity (defined by body mass index, BMI) phenotypes and obesity-related cancer (ORC) remains unknown. Considering BMI reflecting overall obesity but not fat distribution, we aimed to systematically assess the association of our newly proposed metabolic-anthropometric phenotypes with risk of overall and site-specific ORC by sex. METHODS: A total of 141,579 men (mean age 56.37 years, mean follow-up time 12.04 years) and 131,047 women (mean age 56.22 years, mean follow up time 11.82 years) from the UK Biobank was included, and designated as metabolic-anthropometric phenotypes based on metabolic status (metabolically healthy/unhealthy), BMI (non-obesity/obesity) and body shape (pear/slim/apple/wide). The sex-specific association of different phenotypes with overall and site-specific ORC was assessed by hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: We found metabolically unhealthy and/or obesity phenotypes conveyed a higher risk in men than in women for overall ORC and colorectal cancer compared with metabolically healthy non-obesity phenotype (Pinteraction < 0.05). Of note, metabolically healthy obesity phenotype contributed to increased risks of most ORC in men (HRs 1.58 ~ 2.91), but only correlated with higher risks of endometrial (HR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.54-2.32) and postmenopausal breast cancers (HR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.05-1.31) in women. Similarly, even under metabolically healthy, men carrying apple and wide shapes phenotypes (metabolically healthy apple/wide and metabolically healthy non-obesity apple/wide) suffered an increased risk of ORC (mainly colorectal, liver, gastric cardia, and renal cancers, HRs 1.20 ~ 3.81) in comparison with pear shape or non-obesity pear shape. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant sex disparity between metabolic-anthropometric phenotypes and ORC risk. We advised future ORC prevention and control worth taking body shape and sex disparity into account.