Cancer among patients with diabetes, obesity and abnormal blood lipids: a population-based register study in Sweden.

OBJECTIVE

To study how the incidence of cancer is related to diabetes, obesity or abnormal blood lipids.

METHODS

Diagnosis of diabetes, obesity or abnormal blood lipids was studied 0-10 years prior to the diagnosis of cancer in 19,756 cases of cancer and in 147,324 controls matched regarding age, sex and domicile.

RESULTS

Diabetes was significantly more common prior to diagnosis in patients with liver, pancreatic, colon and urinary tract/bladder cancer and in patients with breast cancer diagnosed with diabetes 0-4 years prior to the cancer diagnosis. A lower risk of diabetes was seen in patients with prostate carcinoma among individuals with diabetes diagnosed 5-10 years prior to the cancer diagnosis. The findings remained after adjusting for obesity and high blood lipids. Obesity was significantly more common in patients with endometrial, colon and kidney cancer and with breast cancer above the age of 60 years in those where obesity was diagnosed close to the diagnosis of cancer. High blood lipids were significantly more common in patients with ovarian cancer and less common in patients with breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

The study confirms some previous findings concerning comorbidity and cancer and highlights some new ones.