Early Menopause, Excess Weight Dramatically Raise Endometrial Cancer Risk

Overweight and obese women who enter menopause before age 45 have 6-fold and 20-fold excess risk for endometrial cancer, respectively.

Obesity is a well-recognized risk factor for endometrial cancer, but few data have quantified this risk in younger women. Investigators established a case group of 421 women (age range, 20–54) with endometrial cancer who had participated in the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study and a control group of 3159 women without cancer. Participants' self-reported height, weight at age 18, and adult “usual weight” were used to classify them as normal weight (BMI <25.0 kg/m²), overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9), class I obese (BMI 30.0–34.9), and class II–III obese (BMI ≥35.0).

Regardless of age at menopause, women with endometrial cancer were more likely to be overweight or obese at age 18, as adults, or at both ages. Among women who experienced menopause befo…

Reviewing Author

Wendy S. Biggs, MD

Early Menopause, Excess Weight Dramatically Raise Endometrial Cancer Risk

Topics

Reviewing Author