Multiple Myeloma Mortality in Relation to Obesity Among African Americans.

Authors

Sonderman JS, Bethea TN, Kitahara CM, Patel AV, Harvey C, Knutsen SF, Park Y, Park SY, Fraser GE, Teras LR, Purdue MP, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Gillanders EM, Palmer JR, Kolonel LN, Blot WJ

Affiliations

• International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD (JSS, WJB); Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston, MA (TNB, JRP); Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD (CMK, YP, MPP, RZSS); American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA (AVP, LRT); Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD (CH, EMG); Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA (SFK, GEF); Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (YP); University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI (SYP); Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (LNK); Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN (WJB).
• International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD (JSS, WJB); Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston, MA (TNB, JRP); Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD (CMK, YP, MPP, RZSS); American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA (AVP, LRT); Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD (CH, EMG); Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA (SFK, GEF); Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (YP); University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI (SYP); Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (LNK); Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN (WJB) william.j.blot@vanderbilt.edu.

Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM) incidence and mortality are higher among African Americans (AAs) than among other population groups. The prevalence of obesity is also elevated among AAs, but few studies have examined risk of this cancer in relation to body size among AAs. We combined data from seven prospective cohorts tracking mortality among 239 597 AA adults and used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for death because of MM according to body mass index (BMI) at cohort entry, adjusted for age (as time-scale) and sex. Relative to those with normal BMIs (18.5-25 kg/m(2)), mortality increased monotonically as BMI increased, with hazard ratios reaching 1.43 (95% CI = 1.03 to 1.97) for BMIs of 35 kg/m(2) or greater. The findings suggest that obesity is a risk factor for MM and a contributor to the elevated rates and rising incidence trends of MM among AAs in the United States.