RISK OF PANCREATIC-CARCINOMA IN SMOKERS ENHANCED BY WEIGHT-GAIN - RESULTS FROM 10-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF THE MALMO PREVENTIVE PROJECT COHORT STUDY

Conclusion, The increased risk of pancreatic carcinoma in smokers is e nhanced by weight gain, Possible explanations are proposed and discuss ed, Background, Between 1974 and 1992, 35,000 men and women below 55 y r of age participated in a general health examination at the Departmen t of Preventive Medicine in Malmo, Sweden. Mortality and incidence of cancer have been updated by record linkage with the Cause of Death Reg ister and the National Cancer Register. Methods, The present study dea ls with the incidence of pancreatic carcinoma during 365,500 person ye ars of follow-up. The 43 cases corresponded to an incidence per 100,00 0 person years of 13.4 in men and 6.1 in women. Results, Nonsmokers, e xsmokers, and smokers had an incidence of 1.5, 24.5, and 15.3/100,000 person years, respectively. The case-control approach used to assess r isk factors for pancreatic carcinoma showed that the odds for smoking (odds ratio [O.R.] 8.6; 95% confidence intervals [C.I.] 2.0-37.5), for weight gain more than 10 kg since the age of 30 (O.R. 1.8; 95% C.I. 0 .9-3.6), and for epigastric pain (O.R. 3.2; 95% C.I. 1.4-7.2) were hig her in cases than in controls. These odds ratios were all statisticall y significant in the logistic regression analysis.