*EMBARGOED All research presented at the 2020 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course is strictly embargoed until Monday, October 26, 2020, at 8:00 am EDT.
P2521 The Associations Between Obesity and Early Onset Colorectal Cancer: A Propensity-Weighted Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
Author Insight from Hisham Hussan, MD, FACG, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
What’s new here and important for clinicians?
Weight loss from colorectal cancer (CRC) may obscure its relation to obesity. Thus, to better define the role of obesity as a risk factor for early-onset CRC, we looked at prior obesity history using the NHANES national-level database. Per our data, a 100% of adults with early-onset CRC had a prior obesity at one point in their life vs. 46.1% of controls <50 years without CRC and 51.5% of adults who were diagnosed with CRC ≥50. Adults with early-onset CRC also had an earlier age of diabetes onset compared to controls. These data support a hypothesis that obesity may be shifting the risk of colorectal cancer to a younger age.
What do patients need to know?
Obesity currently affects 18.5% children/adolescents and one third of U.S. adults. This data support evidence linking early-life obesity to an increased risk of colorectal cancer in young adults under 50. Thus, enacting programs and policies to curtail the obesity epidemic in the young adult population should be of the utmost importance.
Author Contact
Hisham Hussan, MD, FACG, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
hisham.hussan [at] osumc [dot] edu
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