Adiposity at different periods of life and risk of adult glioma in a cohort of postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about risk factors for adult glioma. Adiposity has received some attention as a possible risk factor.

METHODS: We examined the association of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), measured at enrollment, as well as self-reported weight earlier in life, with risk of glioma in a large cohort of postmenopausal women. Over 18 years of follow-up, 217 glioma cases were ascertained, including 164 glioblastomas. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS: There was a modest, non-significant trend toward increasing risk of glioma and glioblastoma with increasing measured BMI and WHR. No trend was seen for WC. Self-reported BMI earlier in life showed no association with risk.

CONCLUSIONS: Our weak findings regarding the association of adiposity measures with risk of glioma are in agreement the results of several large cohort studies. In view of the available evidence, adiposity is unlikely to represent an important risk factor for glioma.