Does height matter? When talking about the risk of developing cancer, a new study found that it does.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and University of Stockholm in Sweden found out that taller people have a higher risk of having cancer compared to smaller individuals.
The study, presented at the annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology meeting in Barcelona last Friday, involved the analysis of the height of 5.5 million Swedish men and women, and their vulnerability to cancer.
According to the research, a woman's vulnerability to cancer is increased by 18 percent for every 10 centimeters or 4 inches of her height.
Similarly, for every 10 centimeters or 4 inches of a man's height, his risk of developing cancer rises by 11 percent.
The study, the largest of its kind, particularly found out that taller women had a 20 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer compared to their shorter counterparts.
Both sexes, meanwhile, were found to have 30 percent more chances of developing melanoma, a type of skin cancer, for every 10 centimeters of their height.
Dr. Emelie Benyi, the research team's leader, explained that the study exhibits not a cause-and-effect relationship, but more of an association between height and the risk of developing cancer.
"I don't think tall people need to be worried. There are many other factors that you can influence and that are likely to be more important," she said.
Benyi nevertheless said that her team's study contributes to growing evidence that height and cancer risk are linked. She urged other researchers to identify why this relationship exists.
"Identifying potential risk factors for cancer can help us understand the mechanisms for how cancer develops and that might be used to develop treatments," Benyi said.
The lead researcher said taller people may be more at risk of developing cancer due to the simple fact that they have more cells, which can mutate into tumours.
Benyi added that the higher cancer risk in tall people may also be related to growth hormones, or to their high calorie intake.
